Joe Burrow woke up from a social media slumber on Monday to weigh in on a pair of calls that sparked controversy in this weekend’s divisional round playoff games.
As far as he’s concerned, there is no controversy.
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The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback tweeted a defense of game officials for their rulings on “two plays” that he declared “were not difficult calls.”
He mentions two plays “yesterday,” but is almost certainly referencing a late interception on a contested ball in the Broncos’ divisional round playoff win over the Bills on Saturday and another play on a contested ball Sunday that was ruled a catch for Los Angeles receiver Davante Adams in the Rams’ win over the Bears.
“The amount of ppl that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me,” Burrow wrote. “And it’s not the officials. The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right.”
Other than a retweet of a Netflix post promoting a show about him, that was Burrow’s first tweet since April 26, 2024. He apparently feels strongly about this.
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Are Burrow, game officials right?
The first play in question was Ja’Quan McMillian’s interception of Josh Allen in overtime of Denver’s 33-30 win Saturday night. Bills receiver Brandin Cooks secured the ball in his hands on a deep pass that would have set the Bills up in position for a game-winning field goal.
Cooks was diving to the ground as he made the catch and still had the ball in his hands when his knee hit the turf. But McMillian had tight coverage and snatched the ball from Cooks’ grasp after they hit the ground. He stood up with possession of the ball, and officials awarded him an interception. Denver drove for the game-winning field goal on its ensuing drive.
On the second play in question, Adams caught a ball in traffic in a tie game in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Rams-Bears divisional matchup.
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He didn’t take a step after securing the ball and was immediately taken down to the turf by a pair of Bears defenders. As his knee hit the turf, Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson had his hand on the ball, which was still in Adams’ grasp. Stevenson then stripped the ball from Adams before Adams fully hit the ground.
On this play, Adams was awarded a catch. The Rams went on to score a touchdown on the drive for a 17-10 lead en route to a 20-17 overtime win.
NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay agreed with the call on the field on the broadcast. He also was watching Saturday night and tweeted his agreement of the call on McMillian’s interception. Per McAulay, Adams made a football act “common to the game” on his play that was enough to rule it a complete catch before his knee hit the ground.
“He clearly completed the catch on this one,” McAulay said. “He has it long enough to perform an act common to the game, and then he goes to the ground, and his knee goes down prior to him losing control.”
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In the case of McMillian’s interception, Cooks was diving to the ground and, per McAulay, didn’t establish a completed catch before his knee hit the ground, allowing McMillian to strip the ball for the turnover.
“A player going to the ground to catch a pass must maintain control during and after contact with the ground,” McAulay wrote. That’s the rule. Apply accordingly.”
Burrow didn’t go into further details beyond his initial tweet, but it’s safe to assume that he agrees with McAulay’s interpretation of the rules. And those were the same conclusions that officials on the field reached in both games.
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