The game between the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, billed as a heavyweight fight, turned into a one-sided affair after the Ravens lost both Lamar Jackson and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley to injury.

But even as the Bills put on a clinic en route to a 36-10 blowout, they suffered a major scare on the first drive of the game themselves. A reckless move by Roquan Smith to Josh Allen’s facemask could have been extremely serious, prompting a podcaster to demand severe repercussions for the veteran linebacker.

Podcaster Wants Consequences for Roquan Smith on Josh Allen Play

Against the Bills, Smith came into the limelight for a lot of the wrong reasons. After stopping a tush push attempt on third down, the Bills ran the play back on fourth down. Succeeding on their second attempt, they ended their opening drive with a touchdown.

But the focus quickly shifted to Smith’s contact with Allen, as video appeared to show him grabbing at the quarterback’s facemask and pulling his head awkwardly as he went to the ground. Allen continued playing and did not appear to suffer an injury on the play.

But the move sparked immediate backlash across social media. As fans tried to label the veteran linebacker as a “dirty” player, Dave Myers of “Built in Buffalo” joined the brigade against him, calling for serious action.

“There’s dirty players, then there is Roquan Smith,”Myers claimed. “Dude should be suspended for trying to pull Josh Allen’s head off.”

A standout for the Georgia Bulldogs and a two-time Butkus Award winner, Smith was drafted in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. However, it wasn’t until his shift to the Ravens in 2022 that he truly came into his own.

Making four consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and getting three consecutive first-team All-Pro nods, he was a key reason for the vaunted Ravens’ defensive unit. This year, he’s continued that trend, ranking at number 15 onPFN’s Linebacker Impact Metric.

Smith has never been suspended by the NFL, according to publicly available disciplinary records, though he has been fined multiple times for player-safety violations. That includes an $11,941 facemask fine earlier this season.

This play, and the scrutiny it has gotten, could lead to another fine from the NFL. But for some segments of the fan base, the play’s brutality demands stronger action against Smith.