Former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf had a bizarrely aggressive reaction to an ESPN reporter’s criticism of Josh Allen. 

The Buffalo Bills’ final offensive play of their agonizing 32-29 AFC Championship defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs drew a lot of criticism of Dalton Kincaid after the тιԍнт end allowed a pᴀss from Allen to sail through his hands on fourth down. 

However, it was quarterback Allen who was on the receiving end of some backlash when he was called out for his choice of target by ESPN reporter Benjamin Solak. 

‘no IDEA why Josh did not throw the orbit to [Khalil] Shakir. They’ve called that exact route against the Chiefs on fourth down before! Gotta go to 10 here,’ Solak posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

He later backed up his claim, adding: ‘Think the zone/man pre-snap tells got him off Shakir early but that’s still your best option. He still makes a great throw to Kincaid that shoulda been caught.’ 

Despite Solak’s explanation, Ryan Leaf, who played four seasons in the NFL, did not take too kindly to the apparent criticism of Allen. 

Ex-quarterback Ryan Leaf had an aggressive response to a reporter’s criticism of Josh Allen 

Allen’s pᴀss on fourth down slid through Dalton Kincaid’s hands in AFC Championship game

However, Leaf not only called Solak out but took his offense a step too far, claiming someone should rough the reporter up.  

‘This right here is why in full transparency you have to post your address with these. Someone needs to put a boot in his ᴀss,’ Leaf said in a since-deleted tweet.

‘You work at ESPN. Call Alex, call Dan, call Timmy H. Just call someone before you do this and lose whatever credibility you had. I’m serious though,…’ 

Leaf later deleted the post and issued another tweet admitting that he put his ‘big fat fingers in my big fat mouth.’ 

‘I forget, I suppose most times, that others don’t find me funny, or know that I’m an attempting to be funny,’ he added. 

‘My attempt at gallows humor yesterday was stupid, worded inappropriately, and lacked awareness on my part as to how it would be received. In a very flawed attempt to call for a practical application of a young man’s analysis I said “we should rough him up and see if he can hit the orbit” I thought it was funny, but what I think doesn’t matter. Others didn’t, and that the important piece.

‘Wish I worded it differently, but I didn’t, that’s on me. The very flawed human being still trying to figure it out. I’ll mess up again and again, but I will always own it when I do.

‘As my son told me this morning…”We all make mistakes Dad” – 7 year old who already is wiser than his pops!’

ESPN reporter Benjamin Solak questioned Allen’s choice of target on a critical fourth down 

Leaf later deleted his initial tweet and admitted he had made a ‘flawed attempt’ at humor 

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On fourth down – and the Bills’ final chance to tie the game – Allen backpedaled to avoid the pressure from the Chiefs Blitz, he heaved up a prayer of the pᴀss in the direction of тιԍнт end Kincaid.

Allen’s throw was perfect and sailed right in the direction of his receiver. But Kincaid, the second-year тιԍнт end out of Utah, had the ball sail right through his arms and hit the turf to fall incomplete.

That turned the ball over to Kansas City and within just a few plays, they were kneeling out the clock to reach their third-straight Super Bowl.

While Shakir was in fact open, Allen was under immense pressure from the Chiefs’ defensive blitz and the wide receiver wasn’t fully in route.