No two players in the AFC have ignited as much discussion as Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow, and PFF has an answer to just why that is.

According to the 2026 PFF Quarterback Rankings, Allen takes the top position, surpassing Burrow, who takes second.

"Following a sluggish first two years of his career, Allen has been on a heater ever since. He has earned a 90.0-plus PFF grade in six straight seasons, becoming the first quarterback to accomplish that feat since PFF began charting in 2006," the report stated.

Per the July 2 PFF ranking, Allen deserves to have the top position because there is nobody in the league's history, dating back to 2006, who has matched Allen's level of consistency.

Not only did Allen take the MVP title in 2024, but he also became the first quarterback with a PFF grade of 90.0 for six consecutive seasons since the company started gathering statistics in 2006.

Over the last four years, he has recorded 141 big-time throws, which is 23 more than the QB in second place, and also scored 79 career rushing touchdowns, breaking Cam Newton's record.

A glance at Burrow's second-place ranking shows that if he were playing at a healthy level, he would be number 1. Burrow has also struggled with injuries.

A Turf Toe injury in 2025 affected him for the entire season, and in that year, he only played in eight games and had 259 dropbacks. 

Despite this, he still had a PFF passing score of 91.3, and among quarterbacks who had 250 dropbacks, he had the lowest rate of turnover-worthy plays, according to PFF.

Burrow has had injury issues and missed a lot of games, while Allen has played with no major injuries and played at an elite level for 6 years. The ratings will likely not change until Burrow can stay healthy.

PFF is not the only one scoring Burrow against other elites in the NFL, and the top spot competition is just as close in other rankings.

What the Burrow vs. Allen debate looks like from the other side

Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports, ahead of the 2026 season, listed and grouped each of the 32 starting QBs. In his grouping, he placed Joe Burrow at number five (top group tier) behind Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson.

"Burrow is probably as good as the aforementioned players, but injuries prevented him from receiving similar accolades. Now healthy, Burrow has lofty goals for himself and his team in 2026," DeArdo wrote, via CBS Sports, June 30, 2026. 

Burrow supported that with his performance at minicamp. He even compared the new Bengals roster to the LSU team that he led to a national championship win.

"I want everybody talking about the Bengals. I feel very similarly about this team as I did before the 2019 season at LSU. I'm so excited to get started,"  he said, via Russell Heltman, July 1, 2026. 

At 29, Burrow completed the 2025 season in top form. Per CBS Sports, he threw 1,809 yards, 17 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions, completing 66.8% of his passes in 8 games.

Burrow is looking to push his rankings even higher by playing a full and healthy 2026 season. Do you think he can take Cincinnati to the playoffs this time?

Read more at the Cincinnati Bengals Community!

Written by

Abhay Bharti

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit