Mahomes vs. Allen: Is it the new Brady-Manning rivalry?
Tale of two Quarterbacks
It is no secret that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has had the better of Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen early on in their respective careers. On Sunday, the Chiefs and Bills squared off for the fourth time in the past two seasons and Mahomes avenged his regular season loss to Allen in Arrowhead Stadium. The win-loss record between the two dynamic quarterbacks sits at three to one in favor of Mahomes, but neither him nor Allen will tell you they are keeping score. Similarly, legendary quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning met multiple times in the same season during their playing days, with their 2006 and 2013 matchups resulting in very close games.
However, Brady won 11 of the 17 total head-to-heads against Manning. Mahomes may have the early advantage but this AFC Divisional Playoff game showed that the battle with Allen is far from over. The Chiefs had a late 26-21 lead in the fourth quarter after some questionable play calling ultimately resulted in a field goal by kicker Harrison Butker. The last moments of the game provided a glimpse of the greatness these quarterbacks are capable of, as Allen and Mahomes displayed the greatest two minute performance in NFL history. Wide receiver Gabriel Davis became Allen’s favorite target down the stretch, scoring a pair of touchdowns at the 1:54 mark and 13 second mark. Mahomes answered each time, finding Tyreek Hill for a 64-yard touchdown and leading the game-tying drive at the end of regulation, which ended with another Butker field goal.
Unfortunately, Allen never touched the ball for the duration of overtime. The Chiefs won the coin toss and Mahomes took the offense down the field and ended the game with an eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce, sending the Chiefs to the AFC Championship game. With the win, Mahomes ensured his fourth AFC Championship appearance in five years while Allen has made it just once in four years, losing his only appearance to Mahomes and the Chiefs in last year’s AFC Championship game. The last shot we saw of Allen was heartbreaking, as he sat emotionless and helpless on the bench and watched the Chiefs game-winning drive. Analysts showered praise over both quarterbacks’ performances while lamenting that the overtime rules prevented Allen from getting his chance to respond.
In the end, Mahomes may be dominating the head-to-head matchup early on, but if Brady and Manning are any indication of what we could see down the road, these two men have a long way to go. While the Chiefs move on and try to reach another Superbowl title, the Bills will look to regroup and hope that the next playoff game against the Chiefs brings a change in fortunes. The Bengals come into Arrowhead Stadium next, with another young up-and-coming quarterback in Joe Burrow looking to pull off another upset on their Cinderella run. Buffalo is looking towards the NFL Scouting Combine and draft to add towards their lethal arsenal for next season. Both Mahomes and Allen know there is more work that has to be done and are not focused on comparisons to Brady and Manning, but one thing is for sure: these two are the new faces of the game at their position.