Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes: Who is the Better Quarterback?

With the 2024 NFL season almost over, there are two top teams in the AFC battling it out for the first seed. Those two teams are the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. With both teams having elite quarterbacks that are commonly discussed as the best in the NFL with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, it is time to truly look at which quarterback is the best in the NFL.

Mahomes took over for the Chiefs in 2018, when he did so it led to a 12-4 record, winning the AFC West, and making it to the AFC Championship Game. Since then, they’ve won the AFC West for seven consecutive seasons, and three Super Bowls in that stretch. While Mahomes has stayed consistent in leading the Kansas City Chiefs to success, it has led to complacency in some aspects.

Mahomes relies heavily on his athleticism and arm strength, which leads to him uplifting the talent around him but also putting the ball in risky situations frequently, it’s the reason Mahomes threw the fourth most interceptions last season. For when facing Mahomes it’s becoming more clear the way to stop him. It takes a defense with good defensive backs that can cover for long durations, and get pressure off the edge to force him to step up in the pocket to where he can’t escape. That is the key, and it’s what the Buffalo Bills have learned to limit him when facing him. Mahomes has also seen more limitations this season, as with a receiving corps that has seen injuries to Rashee Rice, and Marquise Brown plus an aging Travis Kelce, Mahomes hasn’t been able to uplift the talent with his athleticism like he once used to. This has led to the play of Mahomes being more sporadic and has led to him regressing with more turnover worthy plays resulting in 11 interceptions and just 22 touchdowns with a career-low average of 6.7 yards per attempt.

Mahomes has started to show more issues, while Allen has worked on his problems to put together the best season of his career thus far. Allen is currently the clear MVP as he has thrown for 3,395 yards, averaging eight yards per attempt, 25 touchdowns and just five interceptions, while adding on 484 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Allen has gotten better at reading defenses, and not solely relying on his arm talent to make big plays. Allen is doing all this with a worse offense around him compared to Mahomes, as on the Bills it is largely a younger group with rookie Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, and Amari Cooper. Allen has been able to uplift the talent, while becoming more efficient as a quarterback overall.

Both quarterbacks are spectacular, but the season Allen is having at the moment puts him above Mahomes as the best quarterback this 2024 season.