Patrick Mahomes Reacts to Being Ranked Behind Josh Allen in NFL Coaches, Execs Poll in New Video

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes says he understands why NFL executives, coaches and scouts ranked him behind Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen in annual quarterback evaluations compiled by ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Mahomes led Fowler's annual list for three seasons before Allen leapfrogged him to claim No. 1 in the 2026 edition of the survey.

"You understand it," Mahomes said in a recent interview with Yahoo Sports Daily. "Coming off injury, and we didn't play as well as we wanted to the last few years, you're gonna drop in the rankings of some sort. But at the same time, there's a lot of good quarterbacks on that list, and I'm just happy to be a part of it.

"You have to go out and prove it every single year, so it's my job this year to prove why I can jump up on the list back to No. 1."

Allen, the 2025 MVP, finished third in voting for the award last season while leading the Bills to a 12-5 regular-season record and a Wild Card win. He completed a career-high 69.3 percent of his passes for 3,668 passing yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Mahomes had completed a personal-low 23.7 percent of his passes for 3,587 passing yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season before he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 15.

His ACL and LCL injuries were the lowlight of a rough back half of the season for the Chiefs, who won just one of their last nine games on their way to missing the playoffs.

Mahomes underwent surgery on Dec. 15, one day after suffering his knee injury. He told Yahoo Sports Wednesday his "goal" is to be back in time to play Week 1 of the 2026 season against the Denver Broncos.

"Hopefully the doctors and the coaches give me the green light and I'm able to go out there," Mahomes said Wednesday.

Should Mahomes need more time to recover, the Chiefs will hope backup quarterback Justin Fields is able to keep the team afloat until their two-time MVP is back on the field.