Bills’ Josh Allen finally gets ultimate complement from NFL coaches, GMs, execs

For the first time since Albert Breer’s annual survey became a yearly fixture in 2020, someone other than Patrick Mahomes has won it outright. And it is the Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen who officially ends the Mahomes era atop the QB poll.

Per Sports Insider, Allen collected 427 points and 49 of a possible 104 first-place votes, appearing on 101 of 104 total ballots, a dramatic jump from finishing second a year ago. Mahomes had won the poll every year from 2020 forward except 2022, when Allen finished a close second following their epic 2021 AFC divisional round shootout.

This year marks the definitive break in that streak. Mahomes’ fall was steep and partly injury-driven. He dropped to third with 247 points, just 12 first-place votes, and was left off 18 of the 104 ballots, a stunning number given he’d captured over 90% of first-place votes in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

His knee injury factored heavily into the voting, though some evaluators expect improvement in the Kansas City Chiefs’ run game with the addition of Kenneth Walker III, contingent on Josh Simmons’ health, to take pressure off Mahomes. Notably, the top four was far less consolidated than a year ago.

Meanwhile, Matthew Stafford’s five-spot jump to second is the biggest climb in the poll this year. He climbed from seventh to second with 356 points and 33 first-place votes on 92 ballots, with voters, despite Stafford now being 38.

Regardless, Joe Burrow landed fourth (218 points, 80 ballots), marking his fifth straight year in the poll’s top five, with health remaining the lone question mark. Lamar Jackson slipped one spot to fifth (96.5 points, 47 ballots), while Justin Herbert repeated at sixth (50 points, 24 ballots).

Four newcomers cracked the top 10 for the first time. Dak Prescott debuted at his highest-ever ranking (seventh, 49 points). Drake Maye debuted eighth (37.5 points) after finishing as MVP runner-up to Matthew Stafford and leading the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl.

Caleb Williams debuted ninth (18 points) off his growth under head coach Ben Johnson. Finally, Sam Darnold debuted tenth (12 points) after winning a Super Bowl ring with the Seattle Seahawks.

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