Anthony Barr Relived Josh Allen Hurdling Him and the Reaction Is Perfect

Anthony Barr has finally talked about it. And honestly, the wait was worth it.

The retired linebacker was the guy on the wrong end of Josh Allen’s most famous play, that Week 3 hurdle back in 2018 when Allen was still basically a rookie. Barr sat down with his old friend and former teammate Eric Kendricks on the Bent Outta Shape podcast, and he didn’t hold back on what it felt like to get jumped over by a quarterback like he was a lawn chair.

“He hurdled me, OK. He jumped over me like I was a child,” Barr said. “And he flew through the air, Jordan-esque, right? Boom. And I didn’t even go low, which was the crazy part. I was going for a form tackle … and I just tackled air. And I’m like, ‘Hold on. Where did he go?’ He’s still running.”

That play ended up being Allen’s first career win. The Bills beat the Vikings 27-6 that day, and it was only Allen’s second start. But it also became a defining image for a guy who would go on to throw touchdown passes to himself and dive through snow for pylons against the 49ers a few years later.

Barr, to his credit, took the whole thing in stride. He said he’s glad it was Allen who did that to him, not some random backup nobody will remember.

“Josh was also so young, he was like, fearless,” Barr continued. “He still is pretty fearless. … And I will say, I’m happy that it was Josh Allen who did that to me. If it was Joe Schmo, I couldn’t live with that. But, OK. It was a future NFL MVP. Hey, if that’s going to be played forever, whatever. I can live with that.”

The clip has been living on social media since Barr’s podcast dropped, and fans have been eating it up. Because honestly, how often does a retired defender sit down and say, yeah, that guy made me look like a kid, and I’m fine with it?

Allen has gone on to win 95 more games between the regular season and playoffs over the last seven years. He’s become the face of the franchise and one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league. But it all started with one absurd leap over a linebacker who was trying to do his job and just ended up as part of the highlight reel forever.

Barr knows his legacy now. And he’s choosing to laugh about it. That’s probably the right call.