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In a heartbreaking conclusion to the Buffalo Bills' season, a highly controversial overtime interception paved the way for the Denver Broncos' 33-30 divisional round victory on Saturday.
The play occurred when Bills quarterback Josh Allen targeted Brandin Cooks on a deep pass that the receiver appeared to secure before being wrestled to the turf by Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian. While Cooks seemed to have possession while down by contact, officials ruled the play an interception on the field and quickly confirmed the call, effectively ending Buffalo’s final drive and setting up Denver’s game-winning field goal.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott was visibly incensed following the loss, specifically targeting the lack of transparency and the "rapid" nature of the replay process. "It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled," McDermott told reporters, explaining that he felt forced to burn a timeout just to try and slow the officials down.
The frustration boiled over as McDermott defended his team’s effort, stating, "I'm standing up for Buffalo, dammit... what went on is not how it should go down." He emphasized that after his players spent three hours "pouring their guts out," the officiating crew owed them the courtesy of a thorough, deliberate review.
While referee Carl Cheffers later defended the call in a pool report, stating Cooks failed to "survive the ground" during the catch process, the explanation did little to soothe a Bills sideline that felt a pivotal postseason moment had been rushed to judgment.
Here's more on the pivotal play and the reactions.
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Josh Allen controversial interception video
On 3rd & 11 in the heart of overtime, Allen launched a deep ball to Cooks that initially appeared to put the Bills in game-winning field goal range, only for Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian to wrestle the ball away as they tumbled to the turf.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 18, 2026Although Cooks seemed to have possession while down by contact, the play was ruled a "non-catch" that transformed into a McMillian interception, a call that stood after an expedited review and effectively ended Buffalo's season.
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Why was Brandin Cooks catch ruled an interception?
According to head referee Carl Cheffers and the NFL’s replay office, the play was ruled an interception because Brandin Cooks failed to "complete the process of a catch" as he went to the ground.
Cheffers stated that Cooks was going to the ground as part of the catch process but lost possession of the ball the moment he hit the turf. Because Cooks did not maintain control through contact with the ground, the ball was still "live" in the eyes of the officials. Denver cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian was the one who then gained and maintained possession, thereby completing the process
The NFL's pool report: pic.twitter.com/UNDOPLuaNV
— Jay Skurski (@JaySkurski) January 18, 2026The call was quickly confirmed by the NFL's replay center in New York via an expedited review. They determined there was no "clear and obvious" evidence to overturn the on-field ruling of an interception.
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Sean McDermott reaction to controversial interception
Like the rest of the Bills, McDermott was extremely transparent and emotional postgame. When asked about the play, he said, "I'm standing up for Buffalo. ... What went on is not how it should go down."
"I'm standing up for Buffalo. ... What went on is not how it should go down."
Bills head coach Sean McDermott on the interception call in OT. pic.twitter.com/8WzyZHMAg7
McDermott argued that Cooks was "down by contact" with control, which should have ended the play as a completed pass before McMillian could wrestle the ball away.
He wasn't just upset with the call itself, but with the speed and lack of transparency from the officiating crew. He described the booth review as "rather rapid" and expressed confusion as to why the head official wasn't required to "go under the hood" to look at the monitor himself for such a pivotal play. McDermott revealed he felt forced to burn a timeout specifically to try and "get the process to slow down" because it seemed like the officials were rushing to restart the game before a proper look could be taken.
McDermott stated, "Even if it wasn't [a catch], and I'm being objective, the players are owed a 'let’s stop it, let’s slow it down... just to make sure.'"
After the game, the coach called Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News while the team was flying back to Buffalo. During that call, he admitted he had already watched the replay 20 times in his locker and remained convinced it was a catch, saying, "That play is not even close. That’s a catch all the way... nobody can convince me that that ball is not caught and in possession of Buffalo."
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Reactions to Josh Allen interception
Of course, there were plenty of reactions to the controversial play. Left tackle Dion Dawkins, who was emotional as anyone after the game, took to social media.
🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/HTUIzqTLjG
— Dion Dawkins (@DDawkins66) January 18, 2026Outside of the players itself, there were plenty that were in Buffalo's favor.
This in an NFL playoff game got ruled an interception and ended Buffalo’s season?!!?? This is a catch every time pic.twitter.com/z1rGuMn3Ux
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 18, 2026I have never seen a contested catch like this ever be called anything but a catch. Even as a DB you know that if it’s even a Tie it will go to the WR. Can’t believe this decided the game. https://t.co/EfrzgvSdcj
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 18, 2026One of the biggest frustrations is the speed at which the play was reviewed. Over the years, the NFL has had some "long" reviews, and this one warranted more time in the eyes of many.
My No. 1 thought on this play is that I've seen the NFL spend five minutes on a second down spot in the first quarter, but somehow this extremely close and important play didn't merit much of a review. https://t.co/7Q3crWvzES
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) January 18, 2026Even Gene Steratore took to social media after the game to share his thoughts.
At some point when reviewing plays, the league should consider adding a speed threshold for anything involving the element of time.
When you slow plays down to 1/100th the speed, it distorts what actually happened and makes it look like, in this case, Cooks possessed the ball… pic.twitter.com/CgEQqWaqp9
This isn't necessarily the rules analyst disagreeing with the ruling, but rather sharing his thoughts due to the widespread reaction.
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