Bills Top-5 QB Rankings: Josh Allen Already No. 1?
The Buffalo Bills have a storied history in NFL football, but those 60-plus years of pain and celebration include two storylines: zero Super Bowl wins and shotty quarterback play.
"Shotty quarterback play?!" you may say to yourself, but bear with us. Take a look at Fansided's recent ranking of the top-five signal callers in the organization's history:
5. Tyrod Taylor
"He was a phenomenal locker room presence and leader, a fan favorite, and it's a shame the Bills weren't able to put better talent around him," Fansided wrote.
Yep. You read the name right. Taylor is listed as one of the Bills' all-time greats having just played three seasons in Buffalo, never winning more than eight games or tossing over 20 touchdowns.
4. Ryan Fitzpatrick
"Fitzpatrick played for the Bills from 2009-2012 and started a total of 53 games."
Another flash in the pan, Fitzpatrick got away with never winning more than six contests in a season while donning a Bills jersey and still made this list. Settling for "shotty" being an appropriate word?
3. Joe Ferguson
"Ferguson finished his Bills career with 27,590 passing yards, 181 touchdowns and 190 interceptions. But, even as the team's no. 2 all-time passer, he still doesn't check in at that spot on this list."
A storied career and a name well-remembered in history, Ferguson's 190 interceptions are jaw-dropping. Though as my high school coach, once teammates with Ferguson at Arkansas, put it: "Nobody threw harder."
2. Josh Allen
"Allen might not only wind up as the Bills' all-time leading passer, but don't forget the rushing aspect to his game. Funny enough, Allen ranks 11th on the Bills' all-time rushing list. That's about as impressive as it gets for a guy who has only been in the league five seasons."
Now we're getting to the good stuff. Allen is in line to be the greatest Bills quarterback of all time before eclipsing 30. Even without reaching a Super Bowl, something the man ahead of him did four times, Allen is in line to soon steal Buffalo's QB throne. But there's still a long way to go.
1. Jim Kelly
"Kelly finished his Bills career with 35,467 passing yards, 237 touchdowns and 175 interceptions. His 101 career wins are still almost double what Allen has accounted for."
There are no qualms here. Kelly is a legend in Buffalo, and he will always be remembered with the greatest years in Bills history... despite four crushing Super Bowl defeats.
He's one of three Bills to have his jersey number retired by the franchise and is Buffalo's all-time leader in quarterback wins (101), passing yards (35,467), passing touchdowns (237) and (2874). Ferguson played in four more career games (164) than Kelly, yet doesn't come close to any of these numbers. That says a lot.
So, there you have it. Fansided's top-five quarterbacks to ever wear the Bills jersey. It's safe to say that Allen will need to at least appear in one Super Bowl before he can have a chance at topping Kelly.
You can follow Jonathan Alfano on Twitter at @JonAlfano_News
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