Ryan Clark Exposes Himself As An Idiot With Josh Allen-Lamar Jackson Hypocrisy

To understand how foolish the "pressure on Josh Allen" narrative is this postseason, look no further than ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.

On Friday, Clark blamed Allen for the Bills losing to the Jaguars before the game was even played.

"If [Josh Allen] loses this game, it's on him," Clark declared. "I'm not going to care if James Cook didn't play well. I'm not going to care if Shakir drops balls. I'm not going to care if the defense can't stop the run."

"I’m going to care that Josh Allen couldn’t will his team to win."

Got that?

An ESPN analyst preemptively blamed a player for a loss and insisted that the player is responsible if his teammates can’t catch, run, or defend. Clark’s comments read like satire, but unfortunately, they were not.

Luckily for Allen, he did will his team to victory despite dropped passes, Cook struggling to run, and a defense that couldn’t stop the run.

Still, Allen will have to do it again this week against the Denver Broncos, regardless of how his teammates play. Otherwise, Ryan Clark will declare his season a "failure."

As we explained last week, the "pressure on Josh Allen" storyline is a creation of a sports media industry that has long cast Allen as a villain. It began on draft night when old tweets of his resurfaced. It continued when the media sought to incite a racially motivated rivalry between him and Lamar Jackson. 

For reference, here’s what Ryan Clark said when Allen and the Bills eliminated Jackson and the Ravens last season:

"You fought 8! Gave your team the chance. Had adversity in the first half and kept pushing. Did everything you had to in the second half to earn extra minutes. That’s the way it goes when it’s good on good. This ain’t on you, you showed up in the most important moments @Lj_era8."

According to Ryan Clark, it’s entirely Josh Allen’s fault when the Bills lose. Yet when the Ravens lose, he claims it’s not Lamar Jackson’s fault because football is a team sport.

Spot the difference?

Clark made similar arguments during the 2023 postseason after the Chiefs eliminated both the Bills and Ravens in consecutive weeks. He blamed Allen for Buffalo’s loss but defended Jackson after Baltimore’s.

What’s especially revealing about his logic is that Allen has been a far better postseason performer than Jackson, including a 2–0 record head-to-head. Here’s a look at their playoff résumés so far:

Josh Allen: 8–6 record, 4,333 total yards, 35 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 102.4 passer rating
Lamar Jackson: 3–5 record, 2,394 total yards, 13 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 84.6 passer rating

Patrick Mahomes is the greatest quarterback of this generation. Allen is clearly No. 2. Allen versus Jackson is not a real rivalry.

Here’s a live look at Clark and Bomani Jones, who also blames Allen for all of Buffalo’s struggles while presumably wearing Lamar Jackson pajamas:
 

Somewhere, Cam Newton and Marcus Spears are holding a similarly themed slumber party.

Of course, by declaring that the "pressure is on Allen," the Lamar Bros have set the table to both blame and belittle him no matter what happens. If the Bills don’t win the Super Bowl, it’s his fault. If they do, the Monday morning take machine will crank out excuses that it "doesn’t count" because he didn’t beat Mahomes, Jackson, or Burrow on the way there.

These people are buffoons.

Anyway, there are nine quarterbacks left in the postseason. Using Ryan Clark’s logic, the following are under immense pressure: Allen, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Bo Nix, Sam Darnold, and Brock Purdy.

Meanwhile, Caleb Williams and C.J. Stroud apparently face no pressure because, after all, football is a team sport.

On Allen," the Lamar Bros have set the table to both blame and belittle him no matter what happens. If the Bills don’t win the Super Bowl, it’s his fault. If they do, the Monday morning take machine will crank out excuses that it "doesn’t count" because he didn’t beat Mahomes, Jackson, or Burrow on the way there.

These people are buffoons.

Anyway, there are nine quarterbacks left in the postseason. Using Ryan Clark’s logic, the following are under immense pressure: Allen, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers, Bo Nix, Sam Darnold, and Brock Purdy.

Meanwhile, Caleb Williams and C.J. Stroud face no pressure because football is a team sport.

Did I do that right?