Success

I truly appreciate this moment: we have one of the best teams in the league, and possibly the best; we have one of the best QB's in the league, and possibly the best; and we have the best game of the weekend, on SNF. We went to the fan version of hell and back since the Kelly years - but the payoff is good.

Coleman had a good game 1, and I loved the TD last week. I'm now ready for a true breakout game.

I don't think Jones has been that bad this game - let's see what he can do here.

This really is shaping up to be the "prove it" game. Watching all of the talking heads this week - they're impressed, but we haven't "played anyone yet." Though, if we beat the Ravens, they'll be 1-3 and everyone will move onto "we overrated them," and we still will not have played anyone.

With a QB like Allen & his contract, this is exactly how we remain competitive: replacing star players with great draft picks. It takes a year or 2 or even 3 to evaluate Beane's drafts - but he seems to hit on more picks than most GM's.

In a nutshell, people have generally asked "how will Allen be without Diggs," and (though maybe to a lesser extent), "how will Mahomes be without Kelce?" Mahomes still has Kelce - but he's slower and not who he was. 3 games in, it's not looking so good. We know Diggs didn't make Allen. But who knows....maybe Kelce made Mahomes?

I'm just enjoying every game, and hoping it continues and that we stay relatively healthy. This isn't a psychological thing, where we just run out of steam at the end of the season. We've had some circumstances.

With Diggs dropping perfect passes while MVS was inexplicably making spectacular catches? Extremely unlikely. I'd call your take very biased.

Re: the bolded - if KC had the injuries on defense that the Bills had last year and the Bills were as healthy as KC, the playoff game would have been a blowout.

Man, you really move the goalposts all over the place.

You said fans.

Alright. I was wrong.

Spin it however you want. I'd amend your comment above - I wouldn't say "unbiased" fans. I'd say "casual."

You're adding qualifiers now. My comment was strictly based on the logic that was being presented - you said Allen had to vanquish Mahomes to be considered the best. Look, I get that this is how most people look at it. It's not how I look at it. I think "rings" is more of an emotional appeal - rings are a team accomplishment. And I've seen the coaching & teams Mahomes has had to work with, and that Allen has had to work with. Allen has outplayed Mahomes I'd say roughly half the time in the playoffs. I think he played better in the 13 seconds game, though it was close. It was close last year too. But in 13 seconds, Allen did everything a QB could do to secure the win - and his D let him down. Last year, Mahomes' defense made the big play to basically seal the game, while our depleted D simply couldn't stop the KC offense, which showed all game & had little to do w/ the disparity between the 2 QB's, if there is any.

I'll take the burden, and I've made my case. I don't care a huge amount if people don't agree w/ me. No way I'd trade Allen for Mahomes.

So, if we're going w/ "any given Sunday" - why is Allen deemed worse than Mahomes because he has lost to those KC teams in the playoffs?

That's probably true for many football fans, but not for me. I don't think Eli is better than Brady because he's 2-0 against him in the playoffs.

Well, that was it w/ those Colts teams. They invested in skill players - not in the trenches as much. I don't think they would have won that much more; maybe Brady would have gotten 1 more ring than Manning did there. The whole argument of "head to head" falls apart w/ many examples. I mean, to look at the other Manning - Eli bested Brady TWICE in the biggest game. Would anyone in their right mind say Eli is a better QB, or take him over Brady in their primes?

I've always thought Manning would have a few more if he played w/ Belichick instead of 5 different coaches (and Brady would have less, certainly if he played for the Colts, who weren't constructed & coached as well in those years).

Quarterbacks don't play each other.

I've thought he was better than Mahomes for a few seasons now - it's just that it's more obvious this season. Kelce has slowed down, and Mahomes can't adjust. Allen works w/ whoever he has.

For starters, McDermott has done a great job this year as a whole. We lost a lot of big names, and the consensus nationally was that we were going to take a step back. We weren't sure what our identity would be. In pretty short order, this team looks like the best in the league. McD has gotten a lot of criticism in the past, but has everyone been watching the other games? There is a LOT of bad coaching in the league right now. Then there is the defense. Losing Milano, Bernard & Johnson right out of the gate - and still looking like a top 5 D. They're playing fast, they're hitting hard, I'm not seeing any missed assignments or blown coverages. This is a swarming, smothering defense. The offense also looks as good as we've seen. For starters, we have a run game. In the pass game, 10 different guys caught passes from Allen yesterday. I mean, who do you cover if you're an opposing defense? Brady is mixing it up beautifully, and getting everyone involved. I have a lot of faith in our current staff. It feels like we finally have the coaching we need to get that elusive title.

After that drought - we really earned this. Even though we don't have a Lombardi (yet), every week is fun now. I look forward to watching games just to watch Allen play - but it's also cool to go into each one expecting to win.

I love how Allen has matured, too. He ran tonight exactly how we want to see him run - no risks, no taking on the linebacker for an extra yard or 2, getting the 1st down & sliding. Still very effective in the run game, but doing it smart.

I do get that - but I also think it's a lazy, casual-fan take when it comes to actually comparing who is a better QB. Allen can outplay Mahomes every single weekend - by a lot - and people will still say, yeah, but those trophies. What is that really telling us about comparing the 2 players? If that's always the trump card, what's the point of even comparing how they are TODAY, and how they are this season? Allen could throw 50 TD's this season and Mahomes could throw 20, and it really still comes down to the rings? To me, it's a team game. Mahomes has better coaches, and has had more players step up in the playoffs. I wouldn't trade Allen for Mahomes.