KC Chiefs: Week 6 could be start of Patrick Mahomes / Josh Allen rivalry

The KC Chiefs face the Buffalo Bills on Monday afternoon and it’ll be the first time that Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have squared off on the field.

Kansas City Chiefs fans are used to the narrative now whenever Patrick Mahomes faces another young promising quarterback. We’ve seen it in games against the Texans when the broadcasters note that Mahomes and Deshaun Watson is going to be the next great rivalry. We’ve seen it against the Ravens when all of the talk is Mahomes vs Lamar Jackson.

Be prepared to hear it yet again, Chiefs Kingdom, as the commentators on Monday afternoon will surely be locking in on the Mahomes vs Josh Allen storyline. Hey, it makes perfect sense as to why, as these are two really talented quarterbacks who could go on to have really prosperous careers.

Mahomes has already proven he’s here to stay, winning an MVP, a Super Bowl title, and a Super Bowl MVP title. Allen is in his third year with the Bills and is finally starting to heat up under center, showing he has skills both throwing the ball and running with it.

This is the first time the Chiefs will have faced the Bills since Mahomes took over, so it’s the first time they’ll go up against Allen and this really should be a fun, high-scoring game. Chiefs fans are most definitely ready for that.

I mentioned earlier how Mahomes won an MVP award already in his career and that’s important here because Allen has been grouped in with the MVP candidates five weeks into the season. That’s how well he’s playing through the first month of the 2020 season.

Let’s compare the passing numbers between these two young quarterbacks:

• Mahomes – 123 of 193 for 1,474, 13 TD, INT
• Allen – 131 of 189 for 1,589 yards, 14 TD, 3 INT

Allen has thrown for more yards, but has also tossed two more picks than Mahomes has. Allen has also been involved in close games in four out of five match-ups this year (with their loss being the only blowout), so he’s been expected to air it out a bit more. Mahomes has had to bring the team back (or attempt to, rather) a few times, but the Chiefs haven’t had the urgency to throw as much.

Now, let’s check out the rushing numbers for both signal callers:

• Mahomes – 24 carries, 129  yards, 2 TD
• Allen – 29 carries, 101 yards, 3 TD

Most probably would have expected Mahomes to lead in passing yards and Allen to have more yards on the ground, but that isn’t the case here surprisingly, as Mahomes has 28 more rushing yards than that of Allen. It’s worth noting that a big part of why Mahomes is running more this season is because of how porous his offensive line has performed through five weeks, but he’s also always been someone who isn’t afraid to take off if needed (as we saw in the AFC Championship Game).

Mahomes has the accolades while Allen is still trying to prove himself. He’s done well through the first five games this year and this is an important year for Josh Allen. He needed to prove to the Bills that he was worth trading up to the No. 7 overall pick for and so far this season, he’s showing that Buffalo made the right move.

Every time Patrick Mahomes faces a young quarterback, we’re led to believe that it’s the next Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning rivalry and the honest truth is that we’re not going to know if that’s the case or not until a decade or so from now. First it was supposedly going to be Mahomes vs Baker Mayfield, then Mahomes vs Watson, then Mahomes vs Jackson, and now, Mahomes vs Allen.

Even if it doesn’t turn into a major rivalry, it’d be nice for Patrick Mahomes to come out on top in the first game between him and Josh Allen.