The Kansas City Chiefs open training camp next week. Quarterbacks, rookies, and injured players report to get an early start before the rest of the roster heads to St. Joseph. Still, as we all get ready for the grind of the 2026 season, I marvel at how the national media is still debating who is better, Mahomes or Allen?
Last week, NFL pundits, refusing to create new narratives, beat a dead horse once again, proclaiming that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is a better player than Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Most of the narrative is being pushed by Bills fans and supporters who have made it clear that propping Josh Allen or justifying his place in the Mahomes era has gotten awful silly lately. So, let’s start with the hard facts.
Mahomes has three Super Bowl titles, a pair of NFL MVPs, and has played in seven of the last AFC Title games. He’s won a staggering 17 of 21 postseason games, while Josh Allen has won just eight of 15 January games.
Notably, he’s never played football in February!
If you just use that comparison, Allen is no better than Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow or Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. To his credit, Burrow beat the Chiefs in one of those AFC Title games and, if not for the Los Angeles Rams’ final defensive stand, would have won a Super Bowl for Cincinnati.
Still, because Bills fans are stuck in regular-season success and because Tom Brady left the Patriots, Buffalo has been the prize of the AFC East until last season, when New England became AFC Champions.
Allen is a great quarterback, but like Jackson, neither has beaten Mahomes head-to-head. Sure, the Bills generally win the regular-season matchups and might again this year on Thanksgiving Night in Buffalo, but that game serves as a playoff tune-up for the Chiefs.
For Buffalo, they believe it signifies superiority over Kansas City and removes them from the Championship competition. The fact that Bills fans make this argument, and I know plenty of them, might be the most entertaining part of this silly debate.
Heading into the 2026 season, Mahomes is coming off double-ligament knee surgery, and Allen is coming off one of the worst playoff losses of his career, a Divisional-round loss to Denver in which he turned the ball over four times.
It’s far too early to tell what these quarterbacks will look like when they meet on Turkey Night in America, but I argue this matchup likely goes to Buffalo, which will be playing in its new stadium. If the Patriots falter, Buffalo should be atop the AFC East standings.
Then again, Allen could play poorly, and this game is meaningless. To be fair, the same could be true for Mahomes if he doesn’t rebound from his season-ending injury or the offense fails to catch fire with Eric Bieniemy back as offensive coordinator.
Either way, this debate will always lean toward the Chiefs quarterback because, like Lionel Messi, Mahomes knows how to win in the biggest moments. Until we stop measuring greatness by World Titles, Josh Allen will always fall short in this conversation.
