July often serves as a lull in the NFL season, positioned between the draft and training camps. It’s a time when discussions, often repetitive, about top players reignite. A recurring debate in recent years has centered on whether Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs or Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills holds the title of the league’s best quarterback.
This week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler released his yearly quarterback rankings based on a survey of NFL coaches, executives, and scouts. In the latest list, Josh Allen claimed the No. 1 position, with Patrick Mahomes falling to No. 2. This marks a change from the previous year’s rankings.
Mahomes is known for leveraging criticisms, real or imagined, as motivation. However, despite being ranked second, Mahomes appears content, at least publicly. The two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion acknowledges the need for improvement following an injury-plagued season.
“I mean, you understand it, coming off injury,” Mahomes mentioned on “Yahoo! Sports Daily” on July 15. “We didn’t play as well as we wanted to the last few years. You’re gonna drop in the rankings of some sort, but at the same time, there’s a lot of good quarterbacks on that list. I’m just happy to be a part of it. You have to go out and prove it every single year, so it’s my job this year to prove why I can jump up in the list back to No. 1.”
Mahomes suffered a significant setback last December with a torn ACL and LCL, which required surgery and prematurely ended his season. The Chiefs, accustomed to playoff appearances, finished a disappointing 6-11, missing the playoffs, a rarity since 2014.
The downturn began during a Week 9 matchup in Buffalo. The Chiefs entered at 5-3, and the Bills at 5-2, but Allen led the Bills to a decisive 28-21 victory. The Chiefs stumbled afterward, winning only one of their final nine games. Despite the challenging season, Mahomes remains a formidable rival to Allen, maintaining a 4-0 playoff record against him, though Allen leads 5-1 in regular-season encounters.
During his Yahoo! interview, Mahomes expressed that his primary aim through recovery is to be ready for Week 1 against the Denver Broncos. He hopes to regain full strength when the Chiefs meet the Bills on Thanksgiving.