Taking a look at the AFC Playoff Field, it is clear who the best quarterback is left standing.
Aaron Rodgers is 42. Bo Nix and Drake Maye are in their second seasons. Justin Herbert, CJ Stroud, and Trevor Lawrence are all good, but none have risen into MVP-contender status. Daniel Jones is injured. Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow are all on the outside looking in.
If I had told you in the preseason that Mahomes, Jackson, and Burrow would all miss the playoffs, every Bills fan would agree that the Bills would be the Super Bowl favorites, right?
Not exactly. Buffalo currently has the fourth-best odds according to FanDuel (+850). However, they have the best odds out of any team in the AFC, ahead of the Patriots. That's despite New England having two more wins and a head-to-head victory over the Bills.
For Josh Allen, the odds are not what's important. What is important is the legacy.
Josh Allen couldn't ask for a better shot at finally taking the Buffalo Bills to the Super Bowl
Allen is currently slated to be the best among the great quarterbacks in the playoff picture. The only other quarterback with an MVP under his belt is four-time winner Aaron Rodgers, but Rodgers is not at his best and has not been for three years. Allen is at his best and in his prime. He has a chance to finally claim a Super Bowl title, and his legacy is on the line.
If Allen does not win the Super Bowl this year, when will his year be? This might be the cleanest path to the finals that he's ever had. Allen, of course, is 7-6 in the playoffs, with four losses coming at the hands of Kansas City. Against all other teams, he is 7-2. That includes a loss against Deshaun Watson and Joe Burrow, both of whom are also not in the postseason picture in 2025.
It feels like there may never be a year when the playoff picture is better set up for the Bills to make a run to the Super Bowl. They are on track to finish as the No. 5 seed, setting them up for a game against the middling Steelers. Get past Pittsburgh, and the Bills would travel to either New England or Denver, where they would face a great defense but a young quarterback.
If Allen can't win the AFC this year, there will be serious questions among analysts about whether he can ever win the big game. Regardless of what happens, that will be the media narrative if the Bills come up short.