Sportsbooks Listing Mahomes as +130 Underdog in Throwing Contest With Josh Allen
- Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has accepted the challenge of Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen to a long-throwing competition
- Allen had the longest pass completion in the NFL in 2018 at 63.9 yards
- Mahomes is the reigning NFL MVP
Patrick Mahomes has offered the following advice to Josh Allen – he’d better be prepared to go long.
At least 85 yards long.
Patrick Mahomes says it would take about 85 yards to beat Josh Allen in a potential throw-off ? pic.twitter.com/SjqWMyN5mk
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 5, 2019
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Mahomes accepted the challenge of Allen, his Buffalo Bills counterpart, to engage in a friendly competition to see which QB can throw the ball the furthest through the air.
Despite his impressive credentials – current NFL MVP, leading the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game and an AFC West title in his first season as a starter – online betting sites are listing Mahomes as the underdog if this showdown comes to be.
Who Will Throw the Ball Further in a Throwing Competition?
| Who Will Throw the Ball Further? | Odds |
|---|---|
| Josh Allen | -170 |
| Patrick Mahomes | +130 |
Odds taken 04/05/19.
No date or location has been set for this proposed event.
Evidence Favors Allen
Coming out of Wyoming, Allen’s arm strength was what left the NFL scouts salivating.
And during his rookie season with the Bills, Allen backed up the belief that he just might possess the strongest arm of any QB in the league.
According to the NextGen stats at NFL.com, Allen engineered the longest pass completion during the 2018 season, a 63.9-yard bomb to Zay Jones against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Top 5 longest completions of 2018 by air distance, per Next Gen Stats:
5. Aaron Rodgers: 61.4 air yards
4. Jared Goff: 62.7
3. Kirk Cousins: 62.9
2. Baker Mayfield 63.8
1. Josh Allen 63.9 https://t.co/kb62WgRWBa— Kevin Patra (@kpatra) January 2, 2019
At last year’s NFL Combine, sports performance coach Ryan Flaherty estimated Allen could throw a football 90 yards through the air.
That Josh Allen arm strength! ? #PotatoBowl pic.twitter.com/8IYtfl1Gea
— The Game Haus Sports (@TGHSports) December 22, 2017
Allen’s arm strength has been compared to that of NFL legend John Elway.
Mahomes Can Fling it
During the 2018 NFL season, Mahomes, completed the second-longest touchdown pass of the season, an 89-yard strike to DeMarcus Robinson that traveled 49 yards through the air.
He completed 15 passes of 40-plus yards last season. His longest completion through the air went for 60.7 yards.
Mahomes completed 15 passes of 40-plus yards last season.
Chiefs players insist that the ball makes a whistling sound as it whizzes through the air following its release from Mahomes’ hand. His arm strength has been paralleled to Hall of Famer Brett Favre.
Patrick Mahomes warms up throwing it 135 yards (Via @KCTVDani) pic.twitter.com/f9EchfigPW
— Football Is Life (@FootbaIl_Tweets) October 2, 2018
He’s been known to fire 90-yard passes during warm-ups.
So Who Wins?
If this were a competition requiring accuracy to go with distance, it would Mahomes in a walk. While Allen’s arm strength is unquestioned, his ability to connect with an open receiver has often been questionable.
But it would appear that the only issue at stake here is distance. That makes the stakes much more even.
As much as Allen appears to be the guy with the chip on his shoulder and something to prove, we’ve still got to lean toward Mahomes. He’s a proven winner, and the fact that he so readily accepted this challenge offers an indication of how the competitive fires percolate within him.
There’s just one caveat – is Uncle Rico invited to take part?
Because, as you know, that guy can throw it over mountains.
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
