Indianapolis, Ind. -- Over the past two seasons, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has quickly ascended to being, arguably, one of the best quarterbacks in the entire National Football League.
In that two-year span with the Bills, Allen has completed 66.1% of his pass attempts for 8,951 yards, 73 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. The 25-year-old has also contributed on the ground with a whopping 1,184 yards yards rushing and 14 touchdowns on 224 attempts.
In 2020, Allen set a number of franchise records for the Bills, while also finishing second in NFL MVP voting behind only Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
While his 2021 stats were not quite as impressive as the year prior, Allen still threw for an astonishing 4,407 yards, 36 touchdowns and 15 touchdowns. He also took off for 763 yards on the ground this season and found the end zone six times.
However, Allen dominated in the 2021 postseason, despite only playing in two games. He completed 77.4% of his pass attempts for 637 yards, tossing nine touchdowns and avoiding any interceptions. Despite the success, Buffalo came up just short in the playoffs in a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round.
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Although Allen's dominance in the playoffs would be enough to add to the argument of him being in the top class of players in the NFL, some already knew he had that ability in him.
While speaking with Matt Bové from WKBW-TV at the NFL Combine earlier this week in Indianapolis, NBC NFL analyst Chris Simms believes the Bills' signal-caller is, right now, the best player in the game.
"You can win without a great quarterback, I think that gets overblown, at times," Simms said. "But when the team doesn't play as well, or you're playing a team that's a mismatch against you or you've got a few injuries, when you've got a guy like Josh Allen, he can cover those holes. That's what he does, let alone gives the team confidence every time they step on the field. ... That's why I love him. I've said this a few times, he's the best player in football."
Many people will never forget the AFC Divisional Round this past season when Allen and Patrick Mahomes squared off in an instant classic game. While Mahomes helped his Chiefs reach a fourth-consecutive AFC Championship Game with an impressive 378-yard passing performance, Allen was, arguably, the best player on the field with 329 passing yards and four touchdown passes to Gabriel Davis. He also added 68 yards on the ground in the losing effort.
Many may see Allen and Mahomes to be the two-best players in the NFL, and that's even ahead of Rodgers, who won his second-consecutive MVP honor in 2021. Simms is of the same mindset, and says he'd still peg Allen to be the best player overall.
"To me, the last two years, he's outplayed Patrick Mahomes," said Simms. "I think those are the two best players in the game right now, and if you made me choose one, I'd go Josh Allen, and there's nobody better in the league right now. He's the best player in the NFL."
It is going to be something watching Allen and Mahomes likely go toe-to-toe with one another over the next several years.
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