Coming off last year's playoff thriller, it's hard to equal the Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen rivalry
When Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes meet at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, you'll be witnessing the fifth installment of the NFL's best quarterback rivalry since Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. To be clear, we're not saying Allen and Mahomes is on the Brady-Manning level, but a strong case can be made this is the best SINCE Brady-Manning, who last met in the 2015 AFC Championship Game.
It's not quite an exact science, but we looked at seven reasons related to Allen-Mahomes dominance, how it resembles Brady-Manning, all while comparing it with notable QB rivalries overlapping and extending past the Brady-Manning rivalry.
You might not agree with me, but I'll guarantee you learn some things along the way that'll get you excited for Sunday's game.
1. Best two QBs in NFL right now
You can't be mentioned in the same breath as Brady-Manning without at least being the best two quarterbacks in the game together at a certain point. After all, Brady and Manning are two of the greatest QBs in NFL history.
For the first time, you can confidently say Allen and Mahomes are the best two quarterbacks on the planet at this very moment. That's something you probably couldn't say without a doubt in recent years with the performance of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, who are off to slow starts this year. Allen and Mahomes rank 1-2 in MVP odds and touchdown passes this season. Their teams are also 1-2 in Super Bowl odds. They've had monster games this season, combining to win three of the five AFC Offensive Player of the Week awards handed out already. They are both coming in hot, too. Each tossed four touchdown passes last week, and Allen's 348 first-half passing yards were a Bills franchise record.
This reasoning also immediately eliminates a good chunk of other QB rivalries I was considering. Joe Flacco-Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers-Roethlisberger, Mahomes-Justin Herbert, Eli Manning-Brady have arguably never been the top-two quarterbacks in the game at the same time.
2. Class of AFC for last three seasons
You need to be among the game's best quarterbacks for several seasons to be considered a great rivalry. Here's a list of categories where Allen and Mahomes rank 1-2 in the AFC since 2020, Allen's breakout season.
Pass TDs
Wins
Playoff wins
TD percentage
Total TDs
1st downs
3rd-down conversion percentage
20-yard plays
EPA/dropback
The AFC is loaded with young, superstar QBs but these two have been consistently at the top. Since 2020, either Allen or Mahomes has ranked first on the AFC's passing touchdowns season leaderboard for a total of 34 of 40 weeks. The only QBs to hold an outright lead not named Allen and Mahomes are Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.
Several rivalries that didn't meet the bar here were Flacco-Roethlisberger, Eli Manning-Brady and Cam Newton-Russell Wilson.