Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes may be the best quarterbacks in the NFL. In 2022, head-to-head rivalry gave us an instant classic that we will remember for years.
Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes kicked off 2022 with one of the most incredible matches in NFL history. They went back and forth down the stretch, trading epic plays and amassing 707 passing yards, 137 rushing yards, 7 rushing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. When the dust settled, the Chiefs were on a 42-36 overtime win and the rivalry between Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes was another incredible chapter.
No additional playoff appearances are coming until 2023, but they both finished right where they left off at the start of the new season – and are arguably the best quarterbacks in the league.
As part of our Fandoms of the Year project, we’re taking this week to celebrate some of the best rivalries of 2022. To get more perspective on the Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen rivalry, and what it’s like to be on either side of it in 2022, we’ll hand it over to Some of the biggest fans.
Patrick Mahomes perspective
Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Troy Aikman and Steve Young. Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach.
Typically, the NFL has an individual quarterback competition that defines a generation of its action. Looks like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen could be such a partnership.
The duo started out at quarterback since the 2018 season but didn’t really kick it off until 2020. Since then, they’ve played an amazing five times, with Mahomes winning three of the fights.
None were more legacy-defining than January 23, 2022.
It’s the game that will forever be known as 13 Seconds. It is also, quite possibly, the best quarterback game in NFL history.
That night in the AFC Divisional Playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium, the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs showed us what 60 minutes of perfection looked like and then some. In an epic set by another haymaker they met, the Chiefs won 42-36, and advanced to host their fourth straight AFC Championship game.
However, the evening is not remembered for who won, but for who threw the ball.
Allen was outstanding, going for 329 yards with four touchdowns, along with a career best of 68 yards. It was Allen who came back strong in the last minute of regulation, giving the Bills a 36-33 advantage with 13 marks on the clock.
Somehow, it was a lot of time.
For Mahomes, he was even better, throwing for 378 yards and three scores while rushing for a game-high 69 yards and an extra touchdown.
On regulation’s last two offensive plays, Mahomes led Kansas City 35 yards, setting up a Harrison Butker field goal. In overtime, the Chiefs won the toss, and Mahomes won the game, finding Travis Kelce along the right boundary for the winning score.
This year, Buffalo got a small measure of revenge. The Bills stormed back to Arrowhead and won 24-20, ralliing to win a last-minute drive from Allen.
Of course, Buffalo wants to finally beat Kansas City in the postseason, having lost to the Chiefs each of the past two years. Given several of the top two teams in the league, there’s a good chance it will be a rematch for the right to play in Super Bowl LVII.
Manning, Brady, Aikman, Young, Bradshaw and Staubach.
Mahomes and Allen aren’t quite a rivalry in this breather just yet, but if 2022 is a harbinger of what’s to come, it’s soon.
– Matt VerderamFanSided NFL Editor
Josh Allen’s perspective
Sunset or sunrise?
Whiskey or beer?
Book or movie version of the book?
These are questions I can easily answer. I’ll take a tangerine sunset overlooking the south shore of Lake Erie in Buffalo, New York at sunrise any time. Pour me an Old Fashioned Four Roses Single Barrel and reserve your IPA. And the book is always – always – better than the movie.
Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes?
It’s not that simple.
Growing up as a Bills fan is a right of way for anyone from Western New York, especially during the Bills’ heyday in the early 1990s. But somewhere along the way, when I was 13 or so, I got lost and also became a devoted Kansas City Chiefs fan. I won’t go into the exact details. It will take a long time to explain, and I have written about it before. Moreover, it is not difficult to reconcile the fandom of two different teams. That is until they play each other. When that happens, I go back to my roots every time. And Bills and Allen always come first.
Last season, when Allen and Mahomes met in the AFC championship game, we witnessed one of the greatest quarterback performances ever and the beginnings of a long, respected, and certainly exciting rivalry. Play after great play. Throw after throw mind blowing. Every time Mahomes did something magical, Allen would pull his rabbit out of his hat. The game was white knuckles riding until the last 13 seconds (sigh).
I know I know. Mahomes got the last word. The rivalry is now 2-3. He also has accolades and tools that Allen doesn’t have – Super Bowl LIV Champion and MVP, 2018 MVP, and four consecutive Pro Bowl selections. Statistically, in 2021, their overall stats are about the same. And this season, Allen has a slight advantage.
But for me, it goes beyond hardware and stats.
I love his determination on the soccer field. his confidence. I have this team on my back and fly over the guys in a one hop mentality. fun. His lack of ego. His desire to continue to grow and develop on and off the football field. Believe him in interviews and post-game conferences, win or lose. But mostly, I love how soft it is Likes buffalo. This city embraced him and he came back and embraced 100 times over. You can’t ask for more in a midfielder.
Except maybe a Super Bowl win.
– Lindsay d’Arcangelowriter for the athlete And the Only women’s sport
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