Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are arguably the two best quarterbacks of their generation, yet only one of them has won three Super Bowls, three Super Bowl MVPs, and two league MVP awards.
However, that difference in accolades hasn’t stopped the Allen-over-Mahomes crowd from growing louder, and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell is the latest analyst to face the consequences of joining it.
Bill Barnwell’s Josh Allen Pick Over Patrick Mahomes Sparks Fierce Pushback
In his recent breakdown of future Hall of Famers from all 32 teams, Barnwell picked Allen as the first-team All-Decade quarterback for the 2020s.
He wrote, “Allen would be the quarterback on the All-Decade first team if it were to be released tomorrow, although there would be at least some debate about instead awarding it to Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes. Every single All-Decade quarterback is enshrined in the Hall besides Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, who will be first-ballot entrants. Regardless, Allen will join them.”
Barnwell’s reasoning may have centered on Allen’s body of work across eight NFL seasons: an 88-39 regular season record, a 64.0% completion rate, 30,102 passing yards, 220 touchdowns, four Pro Bowls, an MVP, and a rushing résumé that includes 4,721 yards and 79 touchdowns on the ground.
However, despite his greatness, Allen has never been named to the first-team All-Pro. He does have two second-team All-Pro selections, but that is not enough to warrant a selection in the All-Decade first team.
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Mahomes, by contrast, has two first-team All-Pro selections, two MVPs, and six Pro Bowl appearances. He has a regular season record of 95-31, and has thrown for 35,939 yards, 267 touchdowns, and 85 interceptions. The Kansas City Chiefs star has also rushed for 2,665 yards and 19 touchdowns.
According to PFN’s QB Impact Metric, Mahomes has been ranked as the best quarterback in the league twice (2018 and 2022) and the second-best quarterback twice (2020 and 2021), while Allen’s best ranking came in 2022, when he finished second with an impact score of 86.2.
Mahomes has appeared in five Super Bowls, won three, and claimed Super Bowl MVP in each of those victories. He did all of it while going 4-0 against Allen in the postseason.
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The NFL world on social media called out Barnwell for his analysis, and here’s how they reacted:
A user named ‘Shaquil Burton’ on X said, “Y’all gotta stop this (expletive). NO WAY in hell he should be over Lamar and for (expletive) sure not over PATRICK. Unless I been watching a different Mahomes all these years.”
Scott Kacsmar added, “Would totally contradict the BS they already pulled when they put Brady ahead of Manning for 2000s. If that’s the standard, then Mahomes should be ahead of Allen.”
Would totally contradict the BS they already pulled when they put Brady ahead of Manning for 2000s.
If that’s the standard, then Mahomes should be ahead of Allen. https://t.co/yiDcnFZb9Y
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) August 7, 2026
Ron Kopp Jr. wrote, “Legitimately makes me feel like I’ve been watching football wrong my entire life the way Allen>Mahomes gets talked about.”
One Chiefs content creator fired back at Barnwell and said, “There would actually be zero debate” about Allen being named to the All-Decade first team over Mahomes as most people will pick the latter.
There would actually be zero debate Bill https://t.co/erAChTjU2B
— HBTC (@hbtCHIEFS) August 7, 2026
A user on X took a dig at Allen and wrote, “The guy has no all pros (1st team) and won an MVP that should’ve gone to Lamar. The year Allen ‘won’ MVP, Lamar was the 1st team All-Pro QB.”
Stephen Stark said, “Nah, this is an immediate unfollow lmfao. Like, how much did Josh Allen’s PR team pay you to write this crap?”
Erik Anderson also took objection with Barnwell’s analysis and said, “Love your work, Bill… would love to hear your rational argument for making Josh Allen all-decade quarterback when Mahomes has 4 AFC titles, 2 Super Bowl wins + 2 more appearances, and an MVP. Josh Allen has…. An MVP.”
Love your work bill… would love to hear your rational argument for making Josh Allen all decade quarterback when Mahomes has 4 afc titles, 2 Super Bowl wins + 2 more appearances and an MVP.
Josh Allen has…. An mvp
— Erik Anderson (@EA2588) August 7, 2026
One user on X said, “Ignoring everything else, how would a QB who has never been a 1st team All-Pro be the first team QB of the decade?”
Another fan also didn’t like Barnwell placing Allen above Lamar Jackson and Mahomes. The fan wrote, “How would Allen be All-Decade first while having a worse resume than Lamar and Mahomes, being a worse player than those 2, all the while not having ever been the best QB in the sport?”
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The postseason gap between Mahomes and Allen is what makes Barnwell’s selection so difficult to defend. The Buffalo Bills star entered the 2025 playoffs with arguably his best chance to finally break through, as the Chiefs were eliminated after Mahomes’ season was cut short by a torn ACL.
Instead of capitalizing, Allen committed four turnovers in a 33-30 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round. It led to Sean McDermott getting fired, yet various analysts continue to crown him as the best quarterback in the league.
For Allen to genuinely dethrone Mahomes in the all-time conversation, winning one Super Bowl wouldn’t be enough. The Chiefs star already sits alongside Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Joe Montana in the discussion for the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
Allen, with one MVP and zero Super Bowl appearances, isn’t close to that tier. Moreover, Lamar Jackson, who has won two MVP awards despite his own postseason struggles, currently has a stronger individual résumé than Allen.
