Mahomes leads Week 2 passing yards, but Wright ranks Allen first
FOX Sports analyst Nick Wright has ranked Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen No. 1 in his quarterback rankings, placing Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the second tier alongside Matthew Stafford, despite Mahomes leading Week 2 with 382 passing yards. CBS Sports noted Allen is the third player with 9-plus total touchdowns and no turnovers in a season's first two games, after Mahomes in 2018 and Peyton Manning in 2013. Mahomes ranks second in MVP odds.
Source
Times of India — Top · read the original report ↗
Desk check · some claims need care
What the desk checked (5)
- Patrick Mahomes led Week 2 in passing yards with 382 — Figure appears in source, but the same source later quotes Wright referring to '400 yards', an internal inconsistency an editor should note.
- Nick Wright ranks Josh Allen No. 1 and places Mahomes in tier two with Matthew Stafford — Directly attributed to Wright with quoted remarks on FOX Sports' First Things First.
- Allen is the third player in NFL history with 9+ total touchdowns and no turnovers in a season's first two games, after Mahomes (2018) and Manning (2013) — Attributed to CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan; historical claim not independently verifiable here.
- Mahomes ranks No. 2 in NFL MVP odds after Week 2 on BetMGM and DraftKings — Attributed to The Athletic's Katie Richcreek; odds are time-sensitive.
- Mahomes has three Super Bowl wins while Allen's team reached four Super Bowls without winning — Stated in source without attribution; source also says Allen has never personally played in the Super Bowl.
Analysts’ view opinion
Nick Wright's ranking reads as a judgement on the full body of work rather than one weekend's box score. Mahomes led Week 2 with 382 passing yards, but Allen's blend of 9-plus touchdowns and zero turnovers across the first two games is what put him on top of the mountain. Notably, this is not a dismissal of Mahomes — Wright kept him in tier two alongside Matthew Stafford while saying he expects him to climb.
- Passing yards alone are a narrow measure of quarterback value; protecting the ball is often worth more to a team.
- Allen is only the third player with 9+ total touchdowns and no turnovers through two games — statistically a rare start.
- The two men who did it before, Mahomes in 2018 and Peyton Manning in 2013, both won MVP that year, which is a favourable signal for Allen but no guarantee.
- Mahomes sitting second in MVP odds shows the betting markets have not written him off; an analyst's tier list and the odds board are measuring different things.
- The familiar split — Allen dominant in the regular season, Mahomes decisive in the postseason — means September rankings can look very different by January.
What to watch — Whether Allen keeps the turnover-free profile against tougher defences, and how quickly Mahomes builds rhythm after injury, should shape the MVP race.
This is one analyst's opinion rather than any official ranking, and two weeks of production does not settle a season or an MVP award.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 6 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
The National Football League (NFL) rivalry between Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has run since their near-identical draft entries — Mahomes in 2017, Allen in 2018. Allen has dominated regular seasons while Mahomes has won three Super Bowls with his franchise; Allen has never played in the Super Bowl. Early in the 2026 season, FOX Sports analyst Nick Wright placed Allen at No. 1 in his quarterback rankings and pushed Mahomes to "row two" alongside Matthew Stafford, even though Mahomes led Week 2 in passing yards with 382. Mahomes is returning from an ACL/LCL injury from which the source says he has fully recovered.
Key facts
- Patrick Mahomes led NFL Week 2 in passing yards with 382 yards.
- Nick Wright, co-host of FOX Sports' First Things First, ranks Josh Allen No. 1 and places Mahomes in tier 2 alongside Matthew Stafford.
- Wright's on-air description of Mahomes' outing: "fresh off 400 yards, three touchdowns, a perfect pass rate."
- Josh Allen is the third player in NFL history with 9-plus total touchdowns and zero turnovers in a regular season's first two games, after Mahomes (2018) and Peyton Manning (2013).
- Both Mahomes in 2018 and Manning in 2013 went on to win the NFL MVP that year.
- Allen recorded both passing and rushing yards in Week 1 against the Houston Texans and Week 2 against the Detroit Lions.
- CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan lists Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Caleb Williams as other MVP contenders after Allen, with no mention of Mahomes.
- Updated BetMGM and DraftKings predictors, as noted by The Athletic's Katie Richcreek, rank Mahomes No. 2 in NFL MVP odds after Week 2.
Timeline
- 2017Patrick Mahomes enters the NFL.
- 2018Josh Allen enters the NFL; Mahomes posts 9+ touchdowns with zero turnovers in his first two games and wins NFL MVP.
- 2013Peyton Manning achieves 9+ total touchdowns and no turnovers in a season's first two games, and wins MVP.
- 2026 season, Week 1Allen logs passing and rushing yards against the Houston Texans.
- 2026 season, Week 2Allen produces against the Detroit Lions; Mahomes leads the week with 382 passing yards; Caleb Williams loses to the Minnesota Vikings.
- After Week 2Nick Wright ranks Allen No. 1; betting predictors place Allen first and Mahomes second in MVP odds.
Who has a stake
- Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills QB) — Ranked No. 1 by Nick Wright and favoured for NFL MVP; still chasing a first Super Bowl appearance.
- Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs QB) — Led Week 2 in passing yards and is No. 2 in MVP odds, but placed in tier 2 while returning from ACL/LCL injury.
- Nick Wright, FOX Sports — His quarterback rankings shape the public debate on who is the league's best QB.
- CBS Sports (Tyler Sullivan) and The Athletic (Katie Richcreek) — Reported the statistical milestone and the updated MVP odds driving the narrative.
- Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs franchises — Team legacies — four Super Bowl appearances without a win versus three Super Bowl victories.
- Betting markets (BetMGM, DraftKings) — Their odds serve as the quantitative benchmark for MVP expectations.
- Other MVP contenders (Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Caleb Williams) — Named as having a shot; Williams is recovering from a Grade 1 hamstring injury.
Why it matters
The Allen-Mahomes comparison captures a recurring sports debate: whether individual statistical brilliance or team championships should define greatness. With Allen matching a milestone achieved only by Mahomes (2018) and Peyton Manning (2013) — both of whom won MVP that year — early-season numbers are already reshaping award expectations. It also shows how analyst rankings and betting markets, not just on-field results, now drive athlete reputation.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Josh Allen plays for the Buffalo Bills; Patrick Mahomes plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, both in the NFL.
- Mahomes entered the NFL in 2017, Allen in 2018.
- Mahomes led Week 2 of the 2026 season with 382 passing yards.
- Only Mahomes (2018), Peyton Manning (2013) and Josh Allen have recorded 9+ total touchdowns with zero turnovers in a season's first two games.
- NFL MVP = Most Valuable Player, the league's top individual award.
- Nick Wright is a FOX Sports analyst and co-host of First Things First.
Mains framing
The Allen-versus-Mahomes ranking dispute illustrates how sporting greatness is measured through competing metrics. Nick Wright's decision to rank Josh Allen No. 1 while placing Patrick Mahomes in a second tier with Matthew Stafford — despite Mahomes leading Week 2 with 382 passing yards, three touchdowns and a perfect pass rate — reflects a preference for sustained late-season reliability over a single strong outing, especially as Mahomes returns from an ACL/LCL injury. The counter-argument rests on team outcomes: Mahomes' franchise has three Super Bowl titles while Allen's has four appearances and no win, and Allen has never played in the Big Game. Allen's statistical case is strong: he is only the third player with 9+ total touchdowns and zero turnovers in a season's opening two games, joining Mahomes (2018) and Manning (2013), both of whom won MVP. Yet betting markets place Mahomes second in MVP odds even as CBS Sports omits him from its contender list, exposing inconsistency between analyst narratives and market signals. The way forward for readers is to treat early-season rankings as provisional and judge both quarterbacks on full-season and postseason evidence.
Key terms
- NFL MVP
- The National Football League's Most Valuable Player award, given to the season's outstanding individual performer.
- Turnover
- In American football, loss of possession by the offence, as through an interception or fumble; Allen had zero in two games.
- Quarterback (QB)
- The player who leads the offence and throws passes; the position at the centre of this ranking debate.
- ACL/LCL injury
- Knee ligament injuries (anterior cruciate and lateral collateral); Mahomes suffered and has fully recovered from these, per the source.
- First Things First
- FOX Sports debate show co-hosted by Nick Wright, where the quarterback rankings were presented.
- BetMGM / DraftKings predictors
- Betting market odds models that ranked Allen first and Mahomes second for MVP after Week 2.
Practice questions
- Should individual statistics or team championships weigh more in judging an athlete's greatness? Discuss with reference to the Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes comparison.
- How do media analyst rankings and betting markets influence public perception of sportspersons? Examine using the 2026 NFL MVP race.
- What does the statistical milestone shared by Peyton Manning (2013), Patrick Mahomes (2018) and Josh Allen suggest about the predictive value of early-season form?
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.