While the Buffalo Bills will face their final road game of the regular season this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, a Bills win and either a loss by the Houston Texans or the Indianapolis Colts will secure a playoff berth.
This will give the Bills their sixth straight playoff appearance and a chance for quarterback Josh Allen to keep stacking wins to his well-crafted resume.
But over the course of his career, Allen has shown he is an elite quarterback with or without a great supporting cast. He's been consistently effective in the regular season and has even performed well in the playoffs, with the goal of finally reaching the Super Bowl.
Josh Allen does more with less
Allen has joined an exclusive club of quarterbacks in Tom Brady and, yes, even Dan Marino, that neither Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, nor, recently, Patrick Mahomes has yet to even get access to. The reigning MVP shows greatness and excellence with limited talent at the receiving position.
Yes, the Bills have running back James Cook, who is one of the best in the NFL. He also has three dependable tight ends in Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, and rookie Jackson Hawes. But the best receiver on the team is most likely Khalil Shakir, who is more of a slot guy than a number one.
Patrick Mahomes - Kansas City Chiefs
You compare that to Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he has had tight end Travis Kelce all this time, along with wide receivers Rashee Rice and Marquise (Hollywood) Brown. He had Tyreek Hill before trading him to the Miami Dolphins, and the rest is history. This season, that combo couldn't overcome a poor running game, injuries to the O-line, and then the crushing season-ending injury to Mahomes, and the "Chiefs Kingdom" is out of the playoffs.
Joe Burrow - Cincinnati Bengals
When evaluating who Burrow has around him for the Cincinnati Bengals, there is no question who has helped him become a very good, not great, quarterback. He has arguably one of the greatest receivers of this generation in Ja'Marr Chase, who is the modern-day equivalent of Randy Moss. He also has one of the best No. 2 receivers in Tee Higgins.
His running game is pretty solid, too, with third-year running back Chase Brown on pace to have 947 rushing yards.
Drake Maye - New England Patriots
By diving into the AFC East, we see that Maye of the New England Patriots has a former Buffalo Bill in wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who had a breakout game against the Bills in Week 5. The funny thing is, Maye is already being compared to Allen despite only being a second-year quarterback. Diggs now knows what it's like to play with the real Allen and also the possible second coming of Allen in Maye.
Lamar Jackson - Baltimore Ravens
And don't forget about Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, who boasts Derrick Henry at tailback, features Mark Andrews at tight end, and Zay Flowers at receiver.
The bottom line is Burrow is a great quarterback, but could he do what Allen has consistently done if you took away Chase and Higgins as targets? Probably not.
The same could be said with Mahomes, although thoughts and prayers are with him and his family right now for a speedy recovery.
And Maye has all the talent in the world to be another Allen, but time will tell if he's ready to take that throne away. And will the Patriots be the last contract for Diggs in the NFL when it expires?