Kurt Warner was trying to make a simple point:
The legacy of an athlete, at least in some peoples鈥 minds, can be drastically changed not by what that player did but by things others did 鈥 or did not 鈥 do.
His comments, posted recently on X, formerly known as Twitter, sparked much debate 鈥 including criticism and praise of him 鈥 and as of Thursday had been viewed more than 1.2 million times.
Warner quarterbacked the Rams to two Super Bowls during their days in 狐狸视频. He also led the NFL鈥檚 other team that once was based in the Gateway City, the Arizona Cardinals, to its only Super Bowl appearance.
Warner鈥檚 squads were 1-2 in Super Bowls, but much of the losing record was because of events outside his control. He threw for at least 365 yards in all of his appearances, still ranking among the six-highest totals in the 57-year history of the event. His 1,156 Super Bowl passing yards are second all time, trailing only the 3,039 amassed by Tom Brady 鈥 who played in a whopping 10 of those games. (Warner鈥檚 average, 385.3, is significantly higher than Brady鈥檚 figure: 303.9.)
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Warner, who has gone from fan favorite in 狐狸视频 to a top-notch studio analyst for NFL Network and game commentator on Westwood One鈥檚 national radio broadcasts of league games, recently took to X to make his point about criticism Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen received after his team鈥檚 playoff loss to Kansas City. Warner didn鈥檛 hold back in these comments, which have been edited to clean up some typical social media issues with punctuation and use of symbols instead of words.
鈥淚鈥檝e been thinking a lot about this whole (Allen) debate,鈥 Warner wrote. 鈥淎nd I know winning means something 鈥 but so does context! Here鈥檚 a little 鈥 I played in three Super Bowls 鈥 in each of them after the last significant drive we had on offense, I left the field with a lead or tie. I have a Super Bowl record of 1-2. Imagine me not having to throw another pass in any of those games and being undefeated (2-0-1 鈥 obviously we would have played overtime in the tie game and I could have been 3-0). How would my career be viewed differently??? Without doing anything different!鈥
He then added a line that is apropos to the political climate of today 鈥 and actually many facets of life in general 鈥 in which facts are ignored or manipulated by those to try to support an agenda.
鈥淐ontext matters, although very seldom really considered,鈥 Warner said.
鈥淏ut it can鈥檛 always be just as easy as saying he wasn鈥檛 good enough to win! Josh Allen has been great in playoffs 鈥 many times not needing to do anything else to win or tie in those games ... yet many want to say he hasn鈥檛 been good enough. Maybe, maybe not, but context matters!鈥
Here鈥檚 the context of the Bills鈥 loss to the Chiefs:
With KC leading 27-24, Buffalo got the ball at its own 20 with 8:23 remaining in the game. Allen then led a methodical drive, converting three third downs 鈥 two with passes, one on a run. The march stalled at the Chiefs鈥 26-yard line, so Tyler Bass came for a 44-yard field-goal attempt. His kick sailed wide to the right with 1:43 remaining, then Buffalo鈥檚 defense was unable to keep KC from making a first down that enabled it to run out the clock.
Was it Allen鈥檚 fault that Bass did not tie the game or the defense failed to get him the ball back?
Of course, there was negative reaction to Warner鈥檚 remarks that perception of people can be affected by things they can鈥檛 control.
One person鈥檚 response to Warner:
鈥淗ow was your defense in Arizona supposed to prevent that (interception returned for a touchdown) you threw to the Steelers in your last Super Bowl, though?鈥
Warner: 鈥淭hey weren鈥檛 all on me. But not sure the point? But why would we read a tweet and try to take it for what it says, crazy me!鈥
Another person said: 鈥淜urt throwing his defense under the bus!?鈥 and called Warner a 鈥渢errible teammate.鈥
Warner鈥檚 response: 鈥淟ame. Not the point at all. But of course someone on here would have to go there!鈥 He added that he was talking 鈥渓ess about my (defense) and more about the great players on the other side 鈥 which was the point!!鈥
There was more.
Someone said Warner 鈥渃ould鈥檝e went out and won by 20 ... the context is the content. You didn鈥檛 get it done. Period.鈥
To which Warner said: 鈥淣ope didn鈥檛 say I couldn鈥檛 have done anything different, I said I could have done nothing different and still be undefeated in Super Bowls ... meaning sometimes you play well enough to win and don鈥檛 win anyways because of other factors. That doesn鈥檛 equate to not being able to get it done!鈥
Some folks did take Warner鈥檚 side.
鈥淧eople often seem to be under the impression that a team loss equals every player on that team (stinks),鈥 one person wrote. 鈥淚t is a team sport. Josh is very often the best athlete on the field and the Bills still lose. Context absolutely matters.鈥
Another: 鈥淭hanks Kurt, for being a voice of reason, as there has been a lot of bizarre takes after the Bills loss. The Chiefs were playing a team with a defensive backfield that was so depleted that there were multiple players who were (fourth) on the depth chart.鈥