Analyst offers odd rationale for Bills' Josh Allen's QB ranking

We all know that Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is one of the best in football at his position.

But that doesn't mean he can be absent from criticism, right?

Allen has done so much good for the Bills since being drafted, but now, the time has come for it all to come together in the form of a Super Bowl win.

After another failure in the postseason, which, one could say, was largely his fault, Allen will again have pressure on him in 2026 to make the NFL's penultimate game.

But here is where things are getting a little sideways. NFL.com's Nick Shook has ranked all starting quarterbacks in 2025, and Allen comes in at No. 2. That isn't the issue.

The issue is Shook's rationale for it.

“Josh Allen did not have an MVP-caliber season but still attracted some consideration because of how he carried the Bills to the Divisional Round,” Shook wrote. “Yes, I can mention how he had the benefit of playing alongside the NFL rushing yards leader in James Cook, or I can knock him for essentially giving away a Divisional Round game to Denver with his four turnovers. I won't let that sink his stock, though, because his importance to the Bills and his elite ability vastly outweighs those details.”

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Allen still deserves blame for playoff loss

There's no denying that the Bills were where they are because of Josh, but conversely, they were dumped out of the playoffs largely because of him.

That's not being mean; that's just a fact with his four turnovers. And for Shook to state that it doesn't hurt his stock is a little odd. At least in how Josh is viewed in the playoffs, anyway.

If Lamar Jackson had done that, would we feel the same? There's no denying Allen's greatness, but that doesn't mean that multiple failures in the playoffs are suddenly forgotten, right?

Allen's importance to Buffalo is understood, but getting a pass on being one of the reasons your team lost in the playoffs because of his elite ability and importance to the franchise is a little odd.

Isn't it?

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