Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are duelling for the NFL Most Valuable Player crown with their stellar displays for the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs, and the pair have single-season records within their grasp.
Both quarterbacks have been in a class of their own this season, leading the way with 17 and 20 touchdowns respectively, and at this rate, they could raise the bar for passing records. Peyton Manning holds both the single-season passing record of 5,477 yards and the single-season touchdown record, tossing 55 in a glittering season for the Denver Broncos in 2013.
With the benefit of a 17th regular season game, both Allen and Mahomes – who battled in an epic duel at Arrowhead Stadium on October 16, with the Bills claiming a memorable 24-20 win – have a strong chance of bypassing Manning's records.
Projections from ESPN have Allen, the current favourite for MVP, finishing with 5,610 yards by the time Week 18 is in the books, with 48 touchdowns. Mahomes, meanwhile, is predicted to finish with 49 touchdowns and 5,243 passing yards.
Manning's yardage record, therefore, is under serious threat, and it is not out of the question the touchdown record falls, too, but that will require the superstars taking their games to even greater heights as the winter months close in and throwing the ball, particularly in icy-cold western New York, becomes more difficult.
The introduction of the 17th regular season game in 2021 must be taken into account, of course, making the benchmarks set by the likes of Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady over the past two decades more achievable.
But there can be no debate that these are the two best quarterbacks in the game. Jalen Hurts is also enjoying a fine season, but his Philadelphia Eagles are winning in a different way, and Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson also have MVP potential, but Allen and Mahomes duels so far have the hallmarks of a Manning-Brady-esque rivalry in its infancy, and there is every chance they could meet again in the AFC championship game come January.
While Allen and the Bills were on a bye week, Mahomes' Chiefs showed their class with a 44-23 blowout of a San Francisco 49ers side tipped to contend in the NFC at Levi's Stadium on Sunday. Mahomes threw for 423 yards and three touchdowns.
NFL legend Shannon Sharpe believes Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league.
"What he did against the 49ers was very impressive, but I didn't see anything to change my mind," he said on Undisputed. "I've always thought he was the best quarterback, even when he lost to the (Indianapolis) Colts on the road and Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
"This season, Patrick Mahomes leads the league in passing yards and touchdowns, he's number one in quarterback rating. (He is the) best quarterback in football."
The Chiefs are on their bye this week, while the Bills return to action against the faltering Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in Orchard Park.
