Twitter Reacts as Aqib Talib Appears to Gouge Dwayne Allen's Eye

In a move that will undoubtedly draw the ire of the NFL office, Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib seemed to gouge the eye of Indianapolis Colts tight end Dwayne Allen during Sunday's 27-24 loss.

Talib drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for the offense, which happened after the whistle when Allen was engaged with Broncos linebacker Von Miller. The Pro Bowler came over unprovoked and appeared to poke Allen in the eye through his facemask, helping Indianapolis drain precious time off the clock as Denver looked to get a stop.

Talib's action can be seen at the 2:34 mark of the following video:

Bleacher Report's Jason Cole caught up with a vocal Talib after the game:

He also denied trying to poke Allen in the eye, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today:

ESPN host Trey Wingo's sentiment was echoed throughout the Twittersphere:

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning finished Sunday three yards shy of eclipsing Brett Favre for the most passing yards in NFL history. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus offered a window into Manning's likely thought process:

ESPN's Robert Flores contextualized it from a WWE perspective:

Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star offered a similar take while adding another classic TV program to the mix:

As for punishment, ESPN's Skip Bayless already had one in mind:

No matter which way you look at it, Talib's apparent actions were bush-league, and based on the footage, he seems to deserve whatever punishment the NFL hands down. Regardless of how heated the battle is between two teams, there's no excuse for unnecessarily risking a player's safety in a way that falls outside the realm of football rules.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.