Josh Allen Tops 2026 NFL QB Poll With 49 First-Place Votes, Ending Patrick Mahomes’s Run
Updated
Updated · Sports Illustrated · Sep 8
Josh Allen Tops 2026 NFL QB Poll With 49 First-Place Votes, Ending Patrick Mahomes’s Run
3 articles · Updated · Sports Illustrated · Sep 8
Summary
Allen finished first in the annual survey of NFL coaches, GMs and evaluators with 427 points, 49 first-place votes and spots on 101 of 104 ballots.
Mahomes, who had led the poll in all but two years since 2020, fell to third with 247 points and 12 first-place votes, with voters citing his knee injury as part of the shift.
Matthew Stafford surged to second with 356 points and 33 first-place votes, while Joe Burrow ranked fourth and Lamar Jackson fifth in a reshuffled top tier.
The result comes as Buffalo starts a new era under 36-year-old head coach Joe Brady, Allen’s former position coach and coordinator, with league evaluators expecting a less conservative offense.
Allen enters the season after posting a career-best 69.3% completion rate last year, but Buffalo’s focus remains turning his individual rise into the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.