Colts owner Jim Irsay irked Rex Ryan by suggesting the coach's gung-ho mentality was the reason Indianapolis decided to sit Andrew Luck for Saturday’s preseason game in Buffalo.
A few hours before the game, Irsay announced on his Twitter feed Luck would not play against the Bills and that Ryan was the reason.
Colts Fans; it's a long Pre-Season and 2 Home Games are coming in the next 2 Weeks..Look for #12 to make 1st Start then instead of tonight.
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) August 13, 2016
.... Yes,there is some truth on this dark,rainy night; that my good friend Rex...has never heard of the word.... PRESEASON😄!!!
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) August 13, 2016
MORE: Jared Goff outplayed by another rookie QB in NFL debut
That didn’t sit well with Ryan, who said after the game, "Take a look at the tapes, and see how many times we blitzed."
Actually, don’t bother. Ryan did the math himself. Per NewYorkUpstate.com, Ryan said the Bills sent one double-A-gap blitz against Colts QB Scott Tolzien
In a thinly-veiled shot at Irsay, Ryan added, "I can tell you one thing, (Colts coach) Chuck Pagano's a good friend of mine, a legitimate, good friend of mine. I have way more respect for him than I do others."
Pagano, though, said it was his decision to sit Luck on Saturday.
MORE: Inspired by Michael Phelps, Justin Forsett to swim in wife's bonnet
When asked why he would have made that decision when he was planning to start Luck against the Packers in last week’s Hall of Fame Game before that game was cancelled, Pagano smiled, "It's one of the benefits that you get when you're the head coach. You get to decide who plays and who doesn't play."
The Colts, behind backups Tolzien and Stephen Morris, won Saturday’s game, 19-18.