With no Chiefs, NFL playoffs may be a referendum on Bills QB Josh Allen’s legacy
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chiefs absence raises stakes: Allen now carries clearer pressure to deliver a title.
- Analysts note Bills’ weaknesses — run defense, receiver depth and difficult seeding.
- If Buffalo fails to reach Super Bowl, critics will frame Allen’s legacy as incomplete.
Since being selected with the seventh overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has been sensational.
Allen won the NFL MVP award a year ago and has thrown for more than 30,000 yards and rushed for another 4,721 in his career. He’s led the Bills to seven straight playoff berths and a pair of AFC Championship Game appearances.
Unfortunately for Allen, however, he and the Bills were stopped short of reaching the Super Bowl both times by the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Bills are 7-6 in the playoffs with Allen, a vast difference from his 88-39 regular-season record.
The opposing quarterback in Allen’s six postseason defeats: Mahomes (four times), the Bengals’ Joe Burrow and Deshaun Watson, who was with the Texans at the time.
None of those quarterbacks is in the playoffs this year, most notably Mahomes. And that’s why some believe Allen’s legacy could be on the line in the postseason.
Alex Brasky, who covers the Bills for Sports Illustrated, wrote in an X post that the pressure is on Allen.
“Not sure why everyone is having such a hard time wrapping their head around the fact that, without Mahomes, Burrow, (Lamar) Jackson in the field, pressure on Josh Allen to win the Super Bowl increases dramatically,” he wrote on X. “The NFL is a QB-driven league, and with the three top QBs in the conference, not including Allen, out of the playoff picture, his feet are now held to the fire.
“He’s the reigning MVP. We don’t get to pick and choose when we treat him like one.
“Far too often Allen gets ALL the credit when he wins, but if he loses, fans and media alike scramble for excuses. There is no excuse this time around. It’s time to get it done.
“If the Bills don’t advance to the Super Bowl this year, with little cap room and an incredibly tough schedule next season, it’s really difficult to imagine them having as good a chance to advance as they do this season. Stop shielding Allen from any and all blame possible. It’s fair to say if he doesn’t get things done this year, it’s an immense failure.”
The Bills Chat Podcast agreed.
It wrote on X: “Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Pressure is a good thing. It means you’re one of the best in the sport. I know it makes fans nervous wondering what the conversations will sound like if it doesn’t happen, but it is the reality for the Bills. And that’s OK. Go Win”
But not everyone agrees.
Mina Kimes, the ESPN NFL analyst, noted on her show that the Bills have struggled in stopping the run, something that’s out of Allen’s control.
“You know who is under pressure? (Seattle’s) Sam Darnold is under pressure,” Kimes said. “(The Rams’) Matthew Stafford is under pressure because they’ve got good teams around them. Like, I don’t think the Bills are bad. ... But the idea that this is some absolute favorite is insane.”
CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles said Allen is not the only player who will determine Buffalo’s fate.
“For the easiest factor to pick in favor of Allen and the Bills — no Mahomes, finally — there are several factors working against them, ones that will make a deep playoff run difficult, even if they have the trump card: the best quarterback still playing,” Pereles wrote.
Pereles also noted the Bills’ troublesome rushing defense. But he noted issues at wide receiver and the fact that Buffalo is the No. 6 seed in the AFC, and most likely will have to win three road games to get to the Super Bowl.
This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 10:03 AM with the headline "With no Chiefs, NFL playoffs may be a referendum on Bills QB Josh Allen’s legacy."
