Error code: %{errorCode}
Josh Allen vs Patrick Mahomes: who is the best QB in the world right now?
Sunday’s clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills is less a football game and more a summit meeting. Two of the NFL’s defining quarterbacks – Patrick Mahomes, the two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion, and Josh Allen, the reigning MVP – go head-to-head again.
Ahead of their Week 9 showdown on November 2, the question feels as relevant as ever: Who is the best quarterback in the world right now?
We compare stats and achievements, and answer that question below.
Watch every NFL game for the rest of the season for just £34.99
Watching every game for the rest of the season just got even easier with DAZN's latest Game Pass offer, as a Season Pro Regular subscription has been heavily discounted from £124.99 to just £34.99, and a Season Pro Ultimate subscription has been reduced from £144.99 to only £49.99!
With this offer, you can access every game - live or on demand - as well as RedZone, NFL Network, and 24/7 programming. A subscription also includes DAZN's weekly original shows, including Downs 2 Business, Kittle Things, and X's & O's coaching breakdown.
Click here for more information and to sign up.
Mahomes’ 2025 campaign has once again been a masterclass in volume and efficiency. Through eight games, he has thrown for 2,099 passing yards, tallying 17 touchdown passes to just four interceptions, with a 67.0 per cent completion rate.
He’s also added 280 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 46 carries – production that speaks to the sustained evolution of his all-around game.
Allen’s numbers, meanwhile, tell a slightly different story – and crucially, they’ve come in one fewer game. Buffalo’s Week 7 bye means the Bills’ quarterback has played only seven times so far.
Even so, his efficiency remains evident: 1,560 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions, with a 68.0 per cent completion rate.
On the ground, he’s been his usual force of nature – 49 carries for 261 yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Photo by Elsa/Getty Images
That single-game disparity matters.
Mahomes’ higher totals in passing yards and touchdowns reflect an extra week of action, not necessarily superior per-game output. When adjusted on a per-game basis, Allen’s averages are closer to Mahomes’ than the raw totals suggest.
Still, Mahomes’ ability to pair prolific passing numbers with near-identical rushing efficiency is telling – he’s producing more yardage overall without losing the precision that defines his play.
The passing efficiency comparison remains razor-thin. Mahomes’ 17 TDs to four picks translate to a better touchdown-to-interception ratio than Allen’s 12 to 4. But Allen’s slightly higher completion percentage and one fewer game balance that out to a degree.
What’s especially striking this season is Mahomes’ growing willingness to take off. His 280 rushing yards actually eclipse Allen’s 261, and he’s just one rushing touchdown behind.
For all the talk that Allen is the league’s supreme dual-threat quarterback, Mahomes’ 2025 stat line suggests that gap has all but vanished.
The nuances of style remain what separate them. Mahomes’ passing numbers – both in raw yardage and touchdown rate – underscore Kansas City’s continued reliance on his arm and pocket improvisation.
Allen, on the other hand, remains the ultimate high-variance weapon: fewer total yards, but a greater share of his team’s offensive identity and the constant threat to turn broken plays into first downs with his legs.
David Eulitt/Getty Images
In terms of drive generation and overall success rate, Mahomes’ higher aerial yardage and red-zone productivity indicate a more consistent capacity to sustain drives through passing.
Allen’s contributions, meanwhile, often come in high-impact bursts – the kind of third-and-short conversions or red-zone scrambles that flip momentum in an instant.
Verdict
So who’s the better quarterback right now? If we go strictly by production, Mahomes remains marginally ahead. His blend of passing volume, touchdown output, and comparable rushing efficiency points to a player still performing at an absurdly high level.
But the truth is that there’s no wrong answer. Mahomes has the stronger statistical base and the greater résumé of postseason achievement; Allen arguably has the higher ceiling from week to week.
Sunday’s meeting won’t decide their legacies, but it will – at least temporarily – decide who wears the crown as the best quarterback on the planet.
