Are NFL analysts afraid to criticize Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen?
Former Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III claims Allen is going blameless for Sunday’s AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and even suggested pundits are avoiding negative comments about the two-time All-Pro.
Playing the role of Tuesday Morning Quarterback on Kay Adams’ YouTube show, Griffin wasn’t denying Allen’s greatness. Still, he was nonetheless puzzled to see a key misread going unmentioned in the fallout from Sunday’s controversial ending in Kansas City.
‘No one has pointed this out…I’ve watched the tape back multiple times, Josh Allen could have actually adjusted the protection and got that blitz picked up,’ Allen told Adams, referring to the failed fourth-down conversion that sealed Buffalo’s fate with two minutes to play.
‘But no one is talking about that because I think there’s a fear right now amongst the media to criticize Josh Allen because he’s been so great. And I do think Josh Allen is a great quarterback.’
The play began with two Bills players going unblocked at the line and ended with Allen heaving a prayer in the direction of тιԍнт end Dalton Kincaid, who failed to haul in the catch. But as Griffin sees it, Allen’s mistake was his failure to pick up the blitz.
.@RGIII on Dalton Kincaid’s near-catch on 4th & 5 late in the fourth quarter… 🔊”Josh Allen actually could’ve ADJUSTED the protection and got that blitz picked up… That to me was a bigger issue than Kincaid dropping the ball.” @heykayadams @BuffaloBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/yvugNiRnpK
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 27, 2025
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) throws a pᴀss during the AFC Championship
Former Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III (pictured) claims Josh Allen is going blameless for Sunday’s AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
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‘Josh Allen could have adjusted the protection and got that blitz picked up,’ Griffin continued.
He would go on to give an insider’s explanation on how he’d adjust the protection at the line of scrimmage.
‘But they’re in an empty formation, they motion Khalil Shakir into the backfield and have him run that bubble, If Josh Allen simply, I don’t know what they call it, but it’s an R/L call and it borrows the backside guard and takes them to the right,’ Griffin said.
‘They would have been able to pick up the blitz and he would have had an opportunity to hit Dalton Kincaid for a mᴀssive gain with the entire play opened up.’
Griffin’s take was so convincing that Adams gave an audible gasp at one point.
Other former NFL quarterbacks have defended Allen, including one-time Bills signal caller Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Responding to ESPN’s Benjamin Solak’s claim that Allen should have thrown to Khalil Shakir on the left side of the field, Fitzpatrick slammed the analyst over his lack of experience.
‘I actually really like your pᴀssion and knowledge for the game but sitting in your comfortable swivel chair with the heater on in the house and a clicker in hand makes the game very easy,’ Fitzpatrick wrote on X.
‘Having two unblocked, unimpeded defenders believe it or not is pretty difficult to navigate,’ Fitzpatrick continued. ‘In the interest of credibility, please don’t ever pause the tape again to talk about the space between the unblocked full speed rushers and how the qb just needs to turn his hips and make the throw.
Fitzpatrick expanded on his point in a subsequent post, writing, that the ‘blitz is impossible to pick up with a 5 man protection.’
Former Chiefs offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz didn’t buy Fitzpatrick’s argument entirely, but agreed that Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo ‘called a perfect play.’
