Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is widely seen as one of the best in football, and depending on who you ask, he might just be No. 1.
Armed with all the tools needed to win it all, so far, Allen hasn't even gotten to the Super Bowl, and the same can be said for Lamar Jackson, too.
With the recent quarterback rankings list for ESPN coming out, Patrick Mahomes is still No. 1, and for some, that is up for debate. But for former quarterback Dan Orlovsky, Allen, along with Lamar Jackson, due to their constant playoff failings, now have a burden placed on their shoulders that isn't ideal.
“What makes the conversation at least relatively interesting is specifically Josh and Lamar,” Orlovsky said. “They've played themselves into the category, the burden, the weight of it doesn't necessarily really matter that much anymore how great you are in the regular season. You got to go get it done and you got to go beat Patrick when it matters the most.
"So, Josh, who was sensational last season, and then Lamar, who was great last season, they got three MVPs between them, and they're zero and three in the AFC title games."
Josh Allen
Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
That isn't a great spot to be for Josh.
He could go 17-0, throw for 50 touchdowns, 5,000 yards, rush for another 10 touchdowns, and none of it would matter because all that people want to see is if he can get it done in the playoffs.
Given how well the Bills and Allen have played over the past five years, winning the division and always in the playoff race, not once have they made it to the Super Bowl, and the two times they made it to the AFC Championship game, Mahomes beat them.
So, the 2025 season might be a tough one to navigate for Allen and the Bills because they have nothing to gain and everything to lose. Play well, who cares, do it in the playoffs, but play poorly, and the criticism will come.
And that, my friends, is a burden no quarterback wants.