Cowboys fans will love Ryan Clark destroying Dan Orlovsky over bizarre Josh Allen defense
By Jerry Trotta
The Dallas Cowboys sadly didn't partake in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, which is regarded as the best sports weekend of the year. That said, heartbroken fans of the team were surely tuned into the game of the year on Sunday between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
The game lived up to the billing as Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen traded blows until the fourth quarter. The Bills missed a game-tying field goal attempt with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter and the Chiefs won a 27-24 nail-biter to clinch their sixth straight AFC Championship Game appearance in the Mahomes era.
This seemed to be Josh Allen's best chance of taking down Mahomes. They were at home and the Chiefs were their most vulnerable in the Mahomes era. While Allen was awesome on Sunday and got victimized by some brutal drops, including from star wideout Stefon Diggs, he ultimately didn't do enough to slay the Mahomes dragon.
Despite that, ESPN analyst and noted Cowboys cynic Dan Orlovsky was on his high horse Monday morning defending Allen. Orlovsky made salient points, but Ryan Clark countered with a must-watch rebuttal that debunked his colleague's defense of the Bills quarterback.
Ryan Clark destroyed Cowboys hater Dan Orlovsky for defending Josh Allen
Two things can be true. Allen played out of his mind on Sunday, but he's routinely come up short against the AFC's elite in the playoffs.
That's what Orlovsky failed to bring to the table in his analysis. Yes, Diggs let a gorgeous 60-yard bomb that Allen dropped in a bucket go through his hands, but there's no defending Allen's do-or-die approach after the two-minute warning.
On 2nd and 9 from just outside the red zone, Allen threw an incomplete pass in the end zone when he had Diggs wide open on an underneath crossing route. At the very least, Diggs picks up a first down and stops the clock.
On 3rd down, Allen was flushed out of the pocket, ignored his check downs and threw the ball out of bounds near the end zone. Trailing 27-24 with less than two minutes left, Buffalo shouldn't have wanted a TD in that situation. Ideally, the Bills move the chains and force KC to use their remaining two timeouts and try to take the lead or tie the game while leaving as little time as possible for Mahomes.
Here's part two of Clark taking Orlovsky to school.
Clark called out Orlovsky for moving the goal posts, and rightfully so. If Allen is going to be compared to Mahomes and other all-time greats, the critique of his game needs to reflect that. Playing great isn't enough sometimes.
At the end of the day, Allen had three chances to retake the lead after the Chiefs went up 27-24. That included the benefit of Kansas City fumbling through the end zone with 12 minutes left in the game. A touchdown in that spot would've given the Chiefs a 10-point lead.
Allen was great, but he completed just 10-of-21 pass attempts beyond the line of scrimmage. per Next Gen Stats. He averaged less than 5.0 yards attempt in the biggest game of his career. Translation: he didn't do enough. That's the standard for every other "elite" quarterback.
Whether it be on TV or social media, Orlovsky never passes up a chance to dig Dak Prescott or the Cowboys. We think we speak for all Cowboys fans in pointing out the satisfaction watching Clark debate circles around Orlovsky.