Bills miffed by officials’ ruling on pivotal INT in OT loss

Denver– buffalo bill Coach Sean McDermott sits near his locker after Saturday night’s playoff loss denver broncosWatching the same play about 20 times. Every time, he came to the same conclusion: Bills wide receiver brandin cook Took a complete catch in overtime.

McDermott told a pool reporter after his postgame news conference, “That play isn’t even close. That’s totally a catcher… and no one can convince me that that ball isn’t caught and Buffalo is in possession.” “I don’t know how the NFL handled it, specifically, the way they did. I think the players and the fans deserve an explanation, you know?”

Note lost 33-30 In the AFC Divisional Round. But on his lone offensive possession in the extra frame, a controversial call left McDermott with a lot to say.

bills quarterback josh allen The ball was launched downfield on third-and-11 from Buffalo’s 36-yard line, and when Cook initially came down with the ball and it appeared his knee was down and he went down due to contact, the Broncos cornerback Jaquan McMillian Snatched the ball. Instead of a potentially winning field goal attempt on Buffalo’s deck, the Broncos had the ball on their own 20-yard line.

“He had a move on me and I just fought with my hands and finished the game,” McMillian said. “The ball was actually coming down, and once I got my hands on the ball, I was able to take it from him. I fell on top of him and just scooped the ball up and showed the fans some love.”

The play was ruled an interception, which Broncos coach Sean Payton described as “an amazing play.” Because overtime challenges are not allowed, McDermott then called timeout. They felt that a proper review process was not taking place. The officials did not stop the game to review the play, but rather league replay officials in New York watched it.

McDermott told a pool reporter that he was “angry about it” and that the process “should have been handled differently.”

He said, “I don’t understand why the chief executive in the game doesn’t get a chance to see the same thing that the people in New York are ruling over.”

A separate Pool Report interview was conducted with referee Carl Scheffers, who explained what was seen leading to the interception.

“The receiver has to complete the catch process,” Scheffers said. “He was going down the field as part of the catch process and lost possession of the ball when it hit the ground. The defender took possession of the ball at that time. The defender is the one who completed the catch process, so the ball was awarded to the defender.”

Scheffers said the replay process confirmed that the ball had not hit the ground.

Although Cooks said he thought he caught the pass, he said he should have done more to keep things out of the officials’ hands. After the game, several Bills players posted on social media indicating that they thought Cooks had completed the catch.

“Huge play in a game that decided the game, potentially, as well, didn’t even slow it down,” McDermott said, referring to the officials. “That’s why I had to call a timeout. It’s not what I wanted to do, but I had to do it to make sure I understood what was going on and they took care of it.”

As McDermott said, “I’m saying this because I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it. I’m standing up for us.”

On the ensuing game-winning drive by the Broncos, the Bills were called for two defensive pass interference penalties, becoming only the second team, in the last 25 years, in the regular season or playoffs to commit multiple such penalties on one drive in an overtime period. (This also happened New York Jets against green Bay Packers in 2018)

cornerback tradavious whiteWho was called for second pass interference while covering Marvin Mims Jr.Disagreement with the penalty, which put the Broncos on the Bills’ 8-yard line.

“As a defensive back, man, that’s what you want: take that guy down the field and finish the play. And the refs, they don’t know the ball, man,” White said.

White said he felt Mims was not looking back for the ball and said he “plays with his hands.”

“I didn’t touch the ball until it got there,” White said. “I feel like I get the job done in the pocket like I’ve been trained to do.”