Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes Chase History; PLUS Joe Burrow Puts Manhood On Line, Daniel Jones Puts Money Where Production Is

The best quarterback matchup this week is Josh Allen versus Patrick Mahomes because it could have a place in history.

When the Kansas City Chiefs host the Buffalo Bills it'll be Mahomes, who leads the NFL in touchdown passes with 15, against the guy right behind him in Allen, who has 14.

Said another way, it's the league passing yards leader in Allen (1,651 passing yards) against the No. 4 guy in Mahomes (1,398).

One more stat?

This is a matchup in which Mahomes is on pace to throw 51 TD passes and 4,753 yards this season. While Allen is on pace to throw 47 touchdowns with 5,613 passing yards.

(Peyton Manning set the record for both most passing touchdowns and passing yards in a season in 2013 when he threw 55 TD passes and accumulated 5,477 passing yards.)

So these two are each chasing history.

The beauty of this matchup is neither is deflecting by saying stuff like, "We don't play against each other, we're facing the defense."

“Yeah, when you go up against the other great quarterbacks in the league, you always want to win," Mahomes said Wednesday. "You always want to compete. Josh is a great guy. He’s a great quarterback. physically talented, he can throw, can run, he can really do it all. But he’s a great dude too.

"And so, obviously when we’re on the football field, we are competing against each other and we want to beat each other’s teams, but I have a ton of respect for him the player and person that he is.”

Allen, 26, was different in the playoffs last year. And by different I mean greater. Remember he threw 9 TD passes without an interception in two playoff games. He had a combined 149.0 quarterback rating in those games.

And Mahomes, 27, still eliminated Allen and the Bills.

Anyway, this season Allen has basically picked up where he left off. Consider that last season through five games Allen had thrown 12 TD passes with 1,370 yards and a 62.3 completion percentage. Yes, very good.

This year he's improved every one of those stats and owns a 66.8 completion percentage. Excellent.

"I've had some good quarterbacks in the past, shout out to them," Bills receiver Stefon Diggs said on a recent Voncast episode with teammate Von Miller on youtube. "But this is that quarterback that God had for me at the end of the tunnel. 'I got a something for you, just make sure you're sharpening your blade when it's time because it's going to cut.' "

Lordy.

Well, the God-given quarterback is aware the Chiefs have one of their own. And he gets it, saying, Mahomes is "special."

"As a football fan myself, when I'm watching a game, I love watching him play," Allen said of Mahomes. "He's a fantastic player. He can do everything you want. His teammates love him, he's got a good grasp of the locker room over there and how he carries himself, the things he does off the field for his charity.

"He's just a special football player and a special guy. Anytime he's playing I think people are watching. So us being able to go over there and play them ...."

Yeah, special.

Daniel Jones Keeps His Eyes On The Prize

Before this season began there were questions about Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. Fans wondered what exactly he was capable of, as did the media.

Even the Giants were unwilling to commit to him beyond this season because they did not offer him a $22.38 million fifth-year option for 2023. But now that the Giants are 4-1 and Jones is playing well under new coach Brian Daboll, there's a question whether he should be locked into a new contract as the team's quarterback of the future.

"I don’t think it was ever really my focus to prove to people one way or the other," Jones said. "My focus was to play as well as I thought I could play and put the team in a position to win.

"That doesn’t change for me. Each week, you try to get better, you try to improve and play the best football you can. I think if we all do that, we’ll be in a good spot. That’s the approach we all take."

Wonder if that's the approach his agent will take?

Joe Burrow Putting Manhood On The Line

The Cincinnati Bengals are a disappointing 2-3 and must travel to New Orleans to play an equally disappointing (and desperate) Saints club that is also 2-3.

So how is Burrow approaching this game?

"Every week to me is a must-win and you get devastated if you don't," Burrow told reporters. "I'd be saying the same thing if we were 5-0: We're going to go out there and fight our balls off for a 'W'."

Follow on Twitter: @ArmandoSalguero