The Patrick Mahomes disrespect just reached a level Chiefs fans can't ignore

This off-season has been filled with doubt and disrespect for Patrick Mahomes. Some of it is understandable. He was a few moments away from being eliminated from the playoffs before he tore his ACL. His stats over the last three years haven't been up to his standard and haven't compared to his peers either. There are also valid questions about what he will look like post-ACL, even though he looks very limber in camp thus far. This is all just to say that not every single criticism of Mahomes is invalid. Now, there's context to everything, and what Mahomes has had to work with over the last few years certainly hasn't made his job easier. However, the disrespect crossed a ridiculous line on Thursday.

On Thursday, respected ESPN writer Bill Barnwell identified Hall of Famers and potential Hall of Famers for each NFL team. While Barnwell did state that Mahomes would be a lock for Canton, a nugget about Josh Allen is where the head-scratching begins. Barnwell describes Josh Allen as the quarterback of the decade. Now, it's worth noting that the decade is only half over. Perhaps Barnwell is bullish on Allen and the Bills' future, but that's not what he wrote. He states, "Allen would be the quarterback on the All-Decade first team if it were to be released tomorrow." Just an insane sentence to write.

The NFL's All-Decade Team is considered the highest honor for a player, short of the Hall of Fame itself. Every quarterback who has been named to an All-Decade Team has also been selected to the Hall of Fame, as Barnwell notes. The ridiculous thing about this sentiment isn't just a Patrick Mahomes thing; it's disrespectful to several others who may have a better claim than Allen.

Josh Allen's accolades start and end with his 2023 MVP, an MVP that was highly debatable, to say the least. So much so that he became one of a select group of MVPs who were not selected to the AP First-Team All-Pro. Lamar Jackson was essentially better in almost every stat that season; however, that would've been Jackson's third MVP, and it felt like it was someone else's turn. Jackson has been the better rusher of the decade, but Allen has been the better passer. They both have an MVP in the decade. Jackson, however, has two AP First-Team All-Pro selections to Josh Allen's zero. Jackson's and Allen's claims are, at worst, equal to being the "quarterback of the decade."

While Matthew Stafford is certainly near the end of his career, and the likelihood of him finishing out the decade as an active player is slim, Barnwell's claim of "if the list came out tomorrow" still seems to be overlooking Stafford, who has one MVP, a First-Team All-Pro selection, and a Super Bowl ring to his name. Allen's passing and rushing stats are better than Stafford's, but Stafford has had more accolades to this point. That's excluding the sky-high hopes for Stafford and the Rams in 2026. out tomorrow" still seems to be overlooking Stafford. Who has 1 MVP, a 1st-team All-Pro, and a Super Bowl Ring to his name. Allen's passing and rushing stats are better than Stafford'ssky-high, but he's had more accolades to this point. That's excluding the sky-high hopes for Stafford and the Rams in 2026.

Allen supporters will cite the lack of help he's had over the decade and his statistics, but acting like Allen didn't have Stefon Diggs at his peak or the league's leading rusher in James Cook this year is silly. Nobody is saying Josh Allen has had an embarrassment of weapons over the decade, but the overwhelming notion that he's "done more with less" is quite overblown. That's not even including Allen's three top-10 defenses during the decade either.

The notion that Josh Allen has a better claim to quarterback of the decade over Mahomes today is simply misinformation. Mahomes has the same number of MVPs, more First-Team All-Pro selections, four Super Bowl appearances, and two Super Bowl MVPs. That's not even including Allen being 0-4 against Mahomes in the playoffs. So far, the story of Josh Allen has been that of a great player who can't get over the hump; the hump just happens to wear No. 15 and play at Arrowhead. Mahomes also leads Allen in completion percentage, overall record, passing yards, passing yards per game, and passing touchdowns, and has thrown fewer interceptions. All of that has come in five fewer games played for Mahomes during that time.

The best narrative about the Hall of Fame is, "Can you tell the story of the NFL and leave this player out?" For Mahomes, the answer is a resounding "No." For Josh Allen, that's up for debate, but saying Allen has the better story to tell this decade is a preposterous statement. Allen's story is, "...but then he faced Patrick Mahomes."

For those arguing that Allen's stats should be why he is the quarterback of the decade, let's reflect on the last All-Decade Team, where Tom Brady was the unanimous selection for the 2010s. That should be no surprise. However, Drew Brees had better stats during that time. Brees lost to Brady in the playoffs, and of course Brady had more accolades. Does a single person with a pulse outside of New Orleans argue that Drew Brees should be the quarterback of the 2010s? Not at all.

Football is a team game. Allen not winning a Super Bowl is not solely on him. It took Peyton Manning 10 years to finally get his first ring. Nobody is saying all of the Bills' shortcomings are Allen's fault. In fact, Allen has been very good in the playoffs, minus his most recent performance against the Broncos. However, saying he's the quarterback of the decade when the door has constantly been shut by the same player, who has more accolades, leads him in several passing metrics, and has also had lesser supporting casts over the years, is baseless.

The Josh Allen public relations machine has been working overtime this off-season, and Chiefs, Rams, and Ravens fans all have an argument to refute Barnwell's claim.

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