The Athletic QB Tiers (2 Panelists Voted Josh as Tier 2)

[HereComesTheReignAgain]

The annual Athletic QB Tiers came out this morning.  Unbelievably, 2 panelists voted Josh as a tier 2 QB!  These 2 panelists must be incredibly spiteful or astonishingly stupid.  How do you not immediately dismiss any contributors to your story that claim Allen is not in the top tier of QBs in the NFL?!  I know it is a paywall article, but here is the link.  https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/interactive/nfl-quarterback-tiers-insider-rankings-2026/ 

 

How panelists voted in 2026

Tier 1  - 48 votes

Tier 2 - 2

 

Allen moved one vote closer toward unanimous Tier 1 status and could be the most feared quarterback in the league.

“Josh Allen is unreal,” a defensive coordinator said. “He and Stafford are the two guys I would not want to play the most. Allen’s ability to make plays, be hard to tackle, put the team on his shoulders — when it’s fourth down, he is going to win.”

 

One veteran coach said Allen still has much to learn.

“Josh Allen, with under 30 seconds left in the half, runs for a meaningless 12-yard gain and fumbles and gives up a field goal in a playoff game to go behind two scores against Denver,” this coach said. “Until he quits doing that, you can’t rank him as the top quarterback. That is one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen. Cost them the game.”

 

Others saw the positives.

“The thing that jumped out to me about the playoffs last year was the physicality and the plays the quarterbacks make with their toughness, their size and their strength, particularly as they advance on,” an exec said. “Josh has got that. Obviously, it’s TBD with (new coach) Joe Brady, but one thing that those guys in the top tier do is, when you get off the bus on the road, the other 52 guys think they got a chance.”

Allen led all quarterbacks in rushing yards (579) and rushing touchdowns (14) in 2025.

 

“He’s the real deal because he can do it as a dropback quarterback, and they do some run game with him,” another defensive coordinator said. “The way they use him is the way Baltimore has to use Lamar (Jackson) to get the most out of him.”

A GM noted that the Bills have given Allen a strong defense and a strong run game, but not at the same time.

“Josh is a 1 because he is the reason they remain competitive,” this GM said. “He’s so physically talented. But I’m ready to say he’s never gonna win a Super Bowl because their team’s getting worse around him, and I think his style of football is going to start breaking him down physically.”

Edited August 4 by HereComesTheReignAgain

[Gregg]

The last comment from the last paragraph is what scares me. At this point after 9 years, it certainly could happen.

[julian]

[MDH]

Mahomes wasn’t unanimous. One guy had him at tier 2.

[H2o]

48 minutes ago, Gregg said:

The last comment from the last paragraph is what scares me. At this point after 9 years, it certainly could happen.

See John Elway. Yes, he made and got destroyed in a couple of SB's before finally winning his last two. Josh hasn't made any. One could make the same statement about those Denver teams. Then the stars, and talent, finally aligned for not only one, but back-to-back Lombardi's. 

[Shaw66]

“Josh Allen, with under 30 seconds left in the half, runs for a meaningless 12-yard gain and fumbles and gives up a field goal in a playoff game to go behind two scores against Denver,” this coach said. “Until he quits doing that, you can’t rank him as the top quarterback. That is one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen. Cost them the game.”

 

This is the truth. The greatest QBs make the right decision every time. Brady, Rodgers, Brees. Every time. They each had a killer instinct that helped them be really smart, every play. Josh still needs to get more focused like that. When he does that, he will be the best ever. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

17 minutes ago, MDH said:

Mahomes wasn’t unanimous. One guy had him at tier 2.

I think it's a fair debate if Mahomes is in tier 1 or 2. Certainly his first few years he was a top guy. But the last few years his play has steadily declined IMO. And now coming off the injury, I don't think he's a top 2 or 3 guy anymore. 

[Einstein]

15 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

The greatest QBs make the right decision every time. Brady, Rodgers, Brees. Every time. 

Every time? 

[NoSaint]

Was it McDermott that said he had a lot to learn and cost them the game?!?

[D. L. Hot-Flamethrower]

41 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

“Josh Allen, with under 30 seconds left in the half, runs for a meaningless 12-yard gain and fumbles and gives up a field goal in a playoff game to go behind two scores against Denver,” this coach said. “Until he quits doing that, you can’t rank him as the top quarterback. That is one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen. Cost them the game.”

 

This is the truth. The greatest QBs make the right decision every time. Brady, Rodgers, Brees. Every time. They each had a killer instinct that helped them be really smart, every play. Josh still needs to get more focused like that. When he does that, he will be the best ever. 

Focusing on one play and ignoring the total body of work is nonsense.

[T.E.]

One veteran coach said Allen still has much to learn.

 

“Josh Allen, with under 30 seconds left in the half, runs for a meaningless 12-yard gain and fumbles and gives up a field goal in a playoff game to go behind two scores against Denver,” this coach said. “Until he quits doing that, you can’t rank him as the top quarterback. That is one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen. Cost them the game.”

 

I'd be kind of horrified if my team's head coach subscribed to the theory that a first-half turnover can be the sole play that costs you a game. What a moronic statement.

[Shaw66]

4 minutes ago, D. L. Hot-Flamethrower said:

Focusing on one play and ignoring the total body of work is nonsense.

No.  That's absolutely the point.  Allen has pretty much everything else.  What he hasn't shown yet is the discipline to do the right thing on every single play. Brady had it, to the max. He took sacks, he threw the ball away, he called timeouts. So long as it was pre-snap on the ball was in his hands, he did the right thing every play. 

 

Allen's fumble was 100% on him, and it was 100% preventable. He wasn't processing all of the information to understand at that moment the single most important thing was not to turn the ball over. It was a horrible, costly play that never should have happened. He has to play every play with that kind of focus, and he won't be the best version of himself until he learns to play with that discipline. 

[Shaw66]

9 minutes ago, T.E. said:

One veteran coach said Allen still has much to learn.

 

“Josh Allen, with under 30 seconds left in the half, runs for a meaningless 12-yard gain and fumbles and gives up a field goal in a playoff game to go behind two scores against Denver,” this coach said. “Until he quits doing that, you can’t rank him as the top quarterback. That is one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen. Cost them the game.”

 

I'd be kind of horrified if my team's head coach subscribed to the theory that a first-half turnover can be the sole play that costs you a game. What a moronic statement.

It did cost them the game. He didn't say it was the only play that cost them the game. But if we could see the grades each player got in film review on each of his plays, I'd bet that no player on the team got a worse grade than Allen got on that play. His JOB, the job they pay him $50 million a year to do, is to take care of the football.  The most important time to do that job is in the last two minutes of the game. The second most important is in the last two minutes of the first half. It was a horrible play, and it put his offense in a terrible hole against one of the top defenses in the league. Brady doesn't do that, Manning doesn't do that, Rodgers doesn't do that. Josh wants to be an all-time great, he cannot do that to his team.

[colin]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

“Josh Allen, with under 30 seconds left in the half, runs for a meaningless 12-yard gain and fumbles and gives up a field goal in a playoff game to go behind two scores against Denver,” this coach said. “Until he quits doing that, you can’t rank him as the top quarterback. That is one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen. Cost them the game.”

 

This is the truth. The greatest QBs make the right decision every time. Brady, Rodgers, Brees. Every time. They each had a killer instinct that helped them be really smart, every play. Josh still needs to get more focused like that. When he does that, he will be the best ever. 

 

have you not seen how many playoff games brady won while turning the ball over, not scoring much, and not producing much in terms of yards?

 

he won his first ring vs the rams where his offense scored 13 total points, went 2/11 on 3rd down, and had 134 net yards passing and one single TD.  did he make the right decision every time to fail to convert those 9 3rd downs?

 

i get that narratives are easier to accept, especially when other people lay them out for you on tv and such, but the data is out there, and i know you have internet access.

[machine gun kelly]

Shaw, I love you bud in your takes and honestly, you’re right.  He did cost us that last game.  There’s no arguing about it, and I’m on record he’s the best QB in the league.  He just blew it in that last game against Denver.  Hopefully Brady can save him from himself.

 

i love the guy, but it’s foolish to not understand he blew it.

[Shaw66]

Just now, colin said:

 

have you not seen how many playoff games brady won while turning the ball over, not scoring much, and not producing much in terms of yards?

 

he won his first ring vs the rams where his offense scored 13 total points, went 2/11 on 3rd down, and had 134 net yards passing and one single TD.  did he make the right decision every time to fail to convert those 9 3rd downs?

 

i get that narratives are easier to accept, especially when other people lay them out for you on tv and such, but the data is out there, and i know you have internet access.

Brady was coached to play with the philosophy that many Bills fans hated when Jauron was the head coach: A punt is a good play. Brady was always happy to throw the ball away and punt rather than chance a turnover. He didn't make risky plays with the ball until time was running out and his team absolutely needed a score. 

 

I have no doubt that he got high grades from his coaches going 2 for 11 on third down. The important stats in his first Super Bowl was zero INTs and zero fumbles. 

Just now, machine gun kelly said:

Shaw, I love you bud in your takes and honestly, you’re right.  He did cost us that last game.  There’s no arguing about it, and I’m on record he’s the best QB in the league.  He just blew it in that last game against Denver.  Hopefully Brady can save him from himself.

 

i love the guy, but it’s foolish to not understand he blew it.

Thanks. I've really been puzzled about why that happened. In his MVP year, he clearly seemed to have learned the ball security lesson, and then last season it slipped away. In Denver, he played like a rookie some of the time. 

[T.E.]

22 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

It did cost them the game. He didn't say it was the only play that cost them the game. But if we could see the grades each player got in film review on each of his plays, I'd bet that no player on the team got a worse grade than Allen got on that play. His JOB, the job they pay him $50 million a year to do, is to take care of the football.  The most important time to do that job is in the last two minutes of the game. The second most important is in the last two minutes of the first half. It was a horrible play, and it put his offense in a terrible hole against one of the top defenses in the league. Brady doesn't do that, Manning doesn't do that, Rodgers doesn't do that. Josh wants to be an all-time great, he cannot do that to his team.

It was a brutal turnover, but the Cook fumble in the 2nd quarter was arguably worse if we're talking about the overall effect on the game.

 

90% of Allen playing recklessly is because he is forced to make everything happen on his own during passing plays, and he knows it. He gets zero help there. If Cooks just holds onto that ball in OT, it's game over and Allen is the hero 

Edited August 5 by T.E.

[GoBills808]

18 minutes ago, colin said:

 

have you not seen how many playoff games brady won while turning the ball over, not scoring much, and not producing much in terms of yards?

 

he won his first ring vs the rams where his offense scored 13 total points, went 2/11 on 3rd down, and had 134 net yards passing and one single TD.  did he make the right decision every time to fail to convert those 9 3rd downs?

 

i get that narratives are easier to accept, especially when other people lay them out for you on tv and such, but the data is out there, and i know you have internet access.

brady threw 40ints in the playoffs and 88TDs

 

allen's over twice as efficient at 29/6

 

the idea that Brady somehow 'made the right decision every time' is laughable

[The Jokeman]

53 minutes ago, T.E. said:

One veteran coach said Allen still has much to learn.

 

“Josh Allen, with under 30 seconds left in the half, runs for a meaningless 12-yard gain and fumbles and gives up a field goal in a playoff game to go behind two scores against Denver,” this coach said. “Until he quits doing that, you can’t rank him as the top quarterback. That is one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen. Cost them the game.”

 

I'd be kind of horrified if my team's head coach subscribed to the theory that a first-half turnover can be the sole play that costs you a game. What a moronic statement.

At the end of the day the Bills lost by 3 points, that fumble lead to the Broncos getting 3 points...Math 101. 

[dave mcbride]

Repeating for emphasis:

 

'A GM noted that the Bills have given Allen a strong defense and a strong run game, but not at the same time.

 

“Josh is a 1 because he is the reason they remain competitive,” this GM said. “He’s so physically talented. But I’m ready to say he’s never gonna win a Super Bowl because their team’s getting worse around him, and I think his style of football is going to start breaking him down physically.”'