Patrick Mahomes Responds to Being Ranked Behind Josh Allen Among NFL QBs

July is the dead zone between the NFL draft and training camp, and it’s also the breeding ground for the most unnecessary, usually heavily recycled, football discourse.

Over the past five years, that has meant firing up the debate over whether Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes or Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is the best player in the league.

This week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler published his annual quarterback rankings, assembled through a survey of NFL coaches, executives, and scouts. Allen came in at No. 1, with Mahomes ranked No. 2 - a flip-flop from last year’s list.

Mahomes is notorious for his Michael Jordan-esque ability to turn slights, perceived or real, into motivation. But, at least publicly, the two-time NFL MVP, three-time Super Bowl champion, and three-time Super Bowl MVP is fine with being No. 2 right now.

“I mean, you understand it, coming off injury” Mahomes said on “Yahoo! Sports Daily” on Wednesday, 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 torn ACL and LCL that required season-ending surgery last December. The Chiefs, fresh off three straight Super Bowl appearances, stumbled to a 6-11 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season.

The beginning of the end of the Chiefs’ 2025 season came when they traveled to Buffalo in Week 9. Entering the game, the Chiefs were 5-3, and the Bills were 5-2. Allen and the Bills dismantled Kansas City en route to a 28-21 win. From that point forward, the Chiefs went 1-8.

While the Chiefs’ season overall was uncharacteristic, the Bills’ regular-season win was par for the course in the Allen-Mahomes rivalry. Allen is 5-1 against Mahomes and the Chiefs in the regular season, but Mahomes is 4-0 against Allen and the Bills in the playoffs.

With Yahoo!, Mahomes said his “goal” in his injury recovery is to start Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, which means he should be back to full strength by the time the Chiefs visit Buffalo on Thanksgiving.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published July 16, 2026 at 12:38 AM.