Josh Allen doesn’t need to win a Super Bowl to be No. 1.
The Buffalo Bills' franchise player was voted the NFL’s top quarterback by The Associated Press in a preseason survey.
The 2024 AP NFL Most Valuable Player beat out Patrick Mahomes, who earned the top spot each of the three previous seasons.
Allen received five first-place votes from a panel of eight AP pro football writers, who ranked the top five quarterbacks entering the 2026 season. First-place
votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.
Allen appeared on all eight ballots and also got one second-place vote, one third and one fourth.
Mahomes finished second just ahead of reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford. Lamar Jackson came in fourth and Joe Burrow was fifth.
Allen followed up his MVP season with another excellent campaign in 2025, but the Bills had their streak of five straight AFC East titles ended by New England and were knocked out of the playoffs in the divisional round against Denver, costing coach Sean McDermott his job.
Allen threw for 3,668 yards, 25 TDs and had 10 picks for a 102.2 passer rating. He ran for 579 yards and 14 scores, making his fourth Pro Bowl and finishing third in MVP voting.
Allen and the Bills are still seeking their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1993 season despite seven straight playoff appearances.
Mahomes finished his worst season in the NFL on the sideline after suffering a torn ACL in Week 15. The Chiefs were 6-8 with Mahomes and lost all three games without him.
Still, the three-time Super Bowl MVP — a unanimous choice for No. 1 in this survey in 2023 and 2024 — commands enough respect to earn two first-place votes and finished second behind Allen. He had 3,587 yards passing for 22 TDs with 11 picks before going down with his first significant injury in the NFL. Mahomes is aiming to be ready for Week 1 as Kansas City tries to rebound from its first losing season under Andy Reid.
Stafford earned first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his 17-year career, and beat out Drake Maye for his first NFL MVP award last season.
He got one first-place vote, two seconds and appeared on all eight ballots in this year's preseason survey. The Rams went 14-6, including a pair of playoff victories and a loss to Seattle in the conference championship.
Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards passing and 46 TDs. He threw eight picks and finished second to Maye with a 109.2 passer rating.
Jackson, a three-time All-Pro and two-time NFL MVP, had his first losing season as a starter, going 6-7, and the Baltimore Ravens missed the playoffs.
Jackson threw for 2,549 yards, 21 TDs and seven picks, posting a 103.8 passer rating. Jackson had a career-low 349 yards rushing and two scores.
Jackson got two third-place votes and appeared on six ballots.
Burrow played only eight games last season because of a toe injury, leading the Bengals to a 5-3 record. It was the third time he played 10 or fewer games due to injuries.
Burrow bounced back the following season to win the AP Comeback Player of the Year award the previous two times.
The three-time Pro Bowl QB threw for 1,809 yards, 17 TDs and five picks with a passer rating of 100.7. Burrow appeared on five ballots with one third-place vote.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
