The Buffalo Bills had already converted a pair of third downs on the road in overtime during Saturday’s AFC divisional-round playoff game against the Denver Broncos.
It looked like they moved the chains again when veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks reeled in a downfield hurl from reigning NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen.
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But when Cooks rolled over after hitting the ground, Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian emerged with the ball. The ruling on the field was “interception.”
It didn’t change, and it was among a string of controversial calls at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High, as the Broncos pulled out a 33-30 win in the extra frame to advance to the conference title game.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said postgame that he believes Cooks made a catch and was down by contact.
“It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled,” McDermott said at the podium. “If it is ruled that way, then why wasn’t it slowed down just to make sure that we have this right. That would have made a lot of sense to me. … Because that’s a pivotal play in the game. [We’d] have the ball at the 20 and may be kicking a game-winning field goal right there.
“So I’ll just leave it at that.”
But McDermott didn’t.
Impassioned, he suddenly added:
“But I’m saying it because I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it. I’m standing up for us. Because what went on is not how it should go down, in my estimation. These guys spend three hours out there playing football, pouring their guts out. To not even say, ‘Hey, let’s just slow this thing down.’
“That’s why I’m bothered.”
The postgame pool report with referee Carl Cheffers revealed what the officiating crew saw on the play.
“The receiver has to complete the process of a catch,” Cheffers said. “He was going to the ground as part of the process of the catch, and he lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground. The defender gained possession of it at that point. The defender is the one that completed the process of the catch, so the defender was awarded the ball.”
Cheffers was then asked if the ball hit the ground.
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“No,” he said. “That was confirmed in the replay process. The interception was confirmed.”
And that interception marked the Bills’ fifth turnover of the day. The Broncos ended up scoring 16 points off those giveaways, including three to win the game in the subsequent minutes on a 23-yard Wil Lutz field goal.
That kick was made possible by a pair of defensive pass interference penalties.
The first was called on Buffalo nickel Taron Johnson, who was covering Denver receiver Courtland Sutton. The second was called on Bills standout cornerback Tre’Davious White as he tried to break up a pass intended for Broncos wideout Marvin Mims Jr.
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Together, those infractions cost the Bills’ defense 47 yards.
White was irate about his DPI penalty, which slingshotted the Broncos 30 yards to the Bills’ 8-yard line and set up a first-and-goal that preceded Lutz’s game-winning kick.
White even slammed his helmet to the ground while arguing with an official.
It was the culmination of a frustrating game for Buffalo, which again saw its Super Bowl dreams vanish despite gaining 449 yards and going a combined 11 of 16 on third and fourth down. The controversial calls will fuel discussion, but the Bills’ turnover-heavy performance on the road will also be dissected.
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