“Sitting in Your Comfortable Swivel Chair”: Former Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick Torches NFL Analyst for Being Critical of Josh Allen Against the Chiefs

A lot of talk in the NFL has revolved around how the Kansas City Chiefs capture crucial moments in big games and take control of the narrative and the outcome. This was pretty evident in their 32-29 win over the Buffalo Bills in the Conference Championship. The Chiefs decided to blitz Josh Allen, forcing him into a tough fourth-and-ten prayer to Dalton Kincaid. The pass fell incomplete, marking Buffalo’s final possession of the season. The play has been dissected thoroughly since then. But what frustrates former NFL QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is the blame Allen has received, though it was never fully his fault.

The critical post that particularly infuriated Fitzpatrick was made by Benjamin Solak, who works for ESPN and is known for his thorough breakdowns of QBs. He gave a great in-depth five-minute review of the play with examples from other games (played by the Bills) to support his claims. But the way the analyst described how Allen should’ve flipped his hips and thrown the ball to Khalil Shakir in the flat, riled up Fitzpatrick.

“I actually really like your passion 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 in response.

“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,” he added.

Solak took Fitzpatrick’s jab with grace, though. It seems he was just happy to have caught the former QB’s attention. However, he stood by his take, questioning whether Allen should’ve thrown it to Shakir.

“Thanks Fitz! Two unblocked rushers down the pipe is insanely difficult to deal with, of course. Josh bought time against them to make the throw downfield, and I think it’s reasonable to ask if he could and should have bought time instead to make the throw to Shakir instead,” replied Solak.

And from there, the two continued to discuss the play. Just a reminder, people, this is called a discussion, not an argument. However, many commented thinking it was a heated exchange.

Some X users even suggested that Solak should stop arguing with a former QB. But this kind of interaction is needed more in sports. Between analysts sitting in their cozy spaces to current and former QBs giving their take on what they’re seeing, some common ground would be found invariably. And ultimately, the game gets celebrated.

To be fair, Solak’s questions about Allen are quite reasonable. He never said Allen should do something egregiously out of his control. He simply offered up the idea that maybe he should’ve dumped it to Shakir in the hopes that he could’ve beaten the defender in a race to the first down marker.

And with the evidence that he shows of how much space was available on that side of the field, it’s not a bad take.

The issue, of course, is exactly what Fitzpatrick pointed out. Solak can pause the play and correctly deem where the ball should’ve been thrown. But in the heat of the game, you can’t press pause like a video game.

Things happen quickly in the NFL, and defensive linemen getting a free rush on the QB is not a situation you should act like you know how to deal with if you never have.

However, Solak made it clear that he knows things happen fast in the NFL. “Bullets fly fast, can’t expect Josh to do that get that entire calculus right in a split second,” he wrote.

So, Solak gets it too. The analyst was simply trying to offer up an idea in hindsight. That’s his job, after all.