Which of Joe Burrow, Josh Allen & Lamar Jackson are under most pressure in 2026?
Yahoo Sports Daily hosts Caroline Fenton and Coley Harvey discuss which AFC quarterback is under the most pressure among Cincinnati Bengals ’ Joe Burrow , Buffalo Bills ’ Josh Allen and Baltimore Ravens ’ Lamar Jackson . Watch the full episode of Yahoo Sports Daily on YouTube or YahooSports.TV .
Video Transcript
Which of these three quarterbacks with sky-high expectations have the most pressure in the 2026 season?
Carolina, I think it's gotta be Josh Allen.
You know, I mean, this is a guy who r- probably has the blueprint in place more so than the other two quarterbacks to go all the way, not just to get to the postseason.
Of course, the problem for him is that he plays in a conference with Patrick Mahomes, but just like the other two guys on our list too, right?
And yet Burrow has still snuck by.
The problem for Allen is that he has happened to face Mahomes four times in the postseason, and at, and at a time when, the, the Chiefs have just been this superhuman machine.
But given the fact that the Chiefs took that step back last year, and it kinda feels like they have been fully brought back down to earth, this is the moment for Josh Allen.
Among these three quarterbacks we're talking about right now, this is his moment to actually finally get his team over the hump, to get not just into the playoffs, but to roll through the playoffs and prove, that he is a Super Bowl contending quarterback.
So I think if we're talking pressure to get a ring, more pressure is on Josh Allen than anybody else.
I think it's Josh Allen too.
And I, I, and I think And all of these quarterbacks have so much pressure, like do not get me wrong.
Part of the reason why, and I agree with everything that you just said, part of the reason why I think it's also Josh is because should've been last year.
You didn't have Joe Burrow in the postseason.
You didn't have Lamar Jackson in the postseason.
You didn't have Patrick Mahomes in the postseason.
All of these roadblocks that have been in place for Josh Allen for being the reason why they haven't been able to break through and even get to a Super Bowl, much less win one, they weren't there.
So instead- it was Bo Nix, it was Drake May.
It was these quarterbacks that we would not We would take Josh Allen over th- over those quarterbacks seven days a week and twice on Sundays, and Josh still couldn't break through.
I think another reason for why it is Josh Allen is we can point to, for Joe Burrow, it's the injuries why he hasn't gotten there.
The Bengals haven't put enough around him.
I don't really believe in Zac Taylor as a head coach.
Like, when we look at why the Bengals have not gotten back to the Super Bowl, there are a lot of reasons that I can point to that aren't just Joe Burrow and his caliber of play.
So I think the pressure is more on the Bengals putting the right pieces around- Mm-hmm your star quarterback more than it is pressure on Joe Burrow himself.
Lamar Jackson, yes, there's an insurmountable amount of pressure.
That's kind of been that gray cloud that's been hanging over Lamar Jackson is he can't get you there.
He crumbles in the postseason, so of course that pressure exists.
But there's also a, a certain a- amount of pressure that I almost feel like was taken off after last season, after how dreadful a- and disastrous that defense was last season for Baltimore.
So if it comes down to it, to me, it really was, okay, is it Josh or is it Lamar?
And ultimately, I kind of deferred to Josh Allen just because the window has felt like every single year, okay, this is the year for Josh Allen and the Bills.
Okay, no it's not.
This is the year for Josh Allen and the Bills.
Okay, no, but then you had to run through Patrick Mahomes.
Last year was the year-
