Patrick Mahomes
has done enough to establish he's one of the best in the league. He's helped the Kansas City Chiefs
become one of the biggest competitors in the NFL, thanks to their consistently dominant runs in the recent past. However, one bad season from Mahomes gave Buffalo Bills
' Josh Allen
the window to edge past him in the latest quarterback rankings. Mahomes understood why.
"Yeah, I mean, you understand it." Patrick Mahomes said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo Sports Daily
. "I mean, coming off injury and, we didn't play as well as we wanted to the last few years. You're going to drop in the rankings of some sort, but at the same time, there's a lot of good quarterbacks on that list. And I'm just happy to be a part of it. You know, you have got 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 number one."
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ESPN noted that Mahomes had topped the same list three times before. According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Chiefs star got more first-place votes than Allen. However, the Bills quarterback's average ranking per ballot stood at 2.10, allowing him to take the crown from Mahomes this year.
As Mahomes figured, his injury and a weak offense forced others to rank the Bills quarterback higher.
"As one NFL personnel director noted, a weak supporting cast in Kansas City
has camouflaged Mahomes' greatness," the report stated. "The Chiefs have struggled to run effectively in recent years, and the receiver trio of Xavier Worthy
, Rashee Rice
and Hollywood Brown
never blossomed into a consistent threat."
"I think the hits were taking the toll even before the injury," an NFL coordinator told ESPN. "He's not the biggest guy. He's such a stud, but the violent hits he's taken, the big-time shots, are a thing."
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The Chiefs went 6-8 with Mahomes playing in 14 games, the first time since 2014 that they have not made the postseason. The quarterback completed 62.7% of his passes in 2025, his lowest number since he took over as a full-time starter. His touchdown total dropped from 26 in 16 games to 22 in 14, and his passer rating fell to 89.6, by far one of the weakest of his career.
The receiving crew is also a little underwhelming this year. Travis Kelce
led the team in receiving yards last year, and Rice trailed in third with only 571 yards. Xavier Worthy also dealt with an injury, and Hollywood Brown will now suit up for the Philadelphia Eagles
. This unit doesn't seem capable of supporting Mahomes' elite skills.
Allen, however, made his case pretty easy to see. He threw for 3,668 yards and 25 touchdowns last year, putting up a 102.2 passer rating. He also picked up his fourth Pro Bowl selection.
One league general manager told ESPN that Allen's mix of playmaking skill and cleaner decision-making ultimately made him the league's top quarterback heading into 2026.
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Mahomes has three Super Bowl rings, while Allen has none. But for now, the rankings say what they say, and Mahomes isn't the type to pretend otherwise. Right now, his focus is simpler: get healthy, get back on the field, and let his play do the talking again.
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