Latest News:Why Patrick Mahomes is no longer QB1 in the NFL:see more 👇

QB1 in the National Football League is not an official crown. It is not the end-game prize for any competitor, nor is it definitively awarded. However, the subjective title of QB1 has belonged to the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes for a remarkably long stretch of time.

Mahomes burst onto the scene in his first year as a starter in 2018, becoming just the second quarterback in league history to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns (Denver’s Peyton Manning became the first in 2013). In that magical season, Mahomes led the Chiefs’ supreme offense all the way to an overtime loss in the AFC Championship Game—a game in which the offense didn’t even receive an opportunity to touch the football. Despite the loss, the tone had been set. There was a new sheriff in town.

The title of QB1 had been tossed around for years; dating back to 2000, it was Brett Favre in Green Bay and Manning in Indianapolis for a long time. Tom Brady and the Patriots kept winning Super Bowls while Drew Brees set records in New Orleans. The Packers traded Favre in for a newer model in Aaron Rodgers. Brady never really went away. And all that is said without mentioning the names Roethlisberger, Rivers, or Ryan. The conversation even predated Twitter wars, but it was certainly an interesting one, as several talented quarterbacks had a strong claim.

The proverbial “championship belt” of being QB1 was steadily tugged in multiple directions, rarely in anyone’s sole possession. And even if a player managed a firm hold on the belt, it wasn’t for long. Brees eclipsed 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2011 and 2012, but Brady was right on his heels. Manning played at an elite level for two years in Denver but missed several games in his final season before dragging the Broncos through the playoffs for one last Super Bowl ring before his retirement.