BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — By now, you have all probably seen that late overtime interception on Josh Allen's intended pass to Brandin Cooks that resulted in the game-winning drive by the Denver Broncos to end Buffalo's season.
JA'QUAN MCMILLIAN INTERCEPTION
BUFvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/S3yuoRu30c— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2026
JA'QUAN MCMILLIAN INTERCEPTION
BUFvsDEN on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/S3yuoRu30c— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2026
"It's hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled. Why wasn't it slowed down just to make sure that we have this right? That would've made a lot of sense to me, to make sure we have this thing right, because that's a pivotal play. But I'm saying because I'm standing up for Buffalo, I'm standing up for us damnit.
The play is still sparking controversy, and no one believes it was a catch more than Cooks himself.
"Of course, I'm always going to think I caught it, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter, unfortunately. It's where we're sitting now," Cooks told reporters after the game.
Well, actually, there may be one person who thought that it was a catch more than Cooks himself. Bills' head coach Sean McDermott.
In a pool report with The Buffalo News' Jay Skurski, McDermott went on to further convey his officiating frustrations both with the call and how it was handled afterwards.
McDermott: "That play is not even close. That's a catch all the way. I sat in my locker, and I looked at it probably 20 times, and nobody can convince me that that ball is not caught and in possession of Buffalo. I just have no idea how the NFL handled it, in particular, the way that they did. I think the players and the fans deserve an explanation, you know?
Skurski: "Is there any recourse here for you? What can you do?"
McDermott: "Here's the deal, right? The fans deserve more. The players certainly deserve more. They deserve an explanation, and it's a shame that a game is decided on a call like that, and there is no time spent with the head official going underneath the hood or to the replay booth, right? To the monitor. I don't understand how that works. I don't understand how that could be the case when it's such a close play, so basically, one person is ruling on that play, or only New York ruling on that play? I don't agree with that. If that's the case, I don't agree with that -- that that is the best approach to decide a game like that.
Skurski: "You've always been cautious about commenting on officiating. Why do you feel in this situation that it is so important to share how you feel about it?"
McDermott: "Because I only speak up when there is a wrong. In this case, it happened to be to our team. We win with class, and we lose with class in Buffalo. That's how we handle our business, but when I'm looking at the replay myself, and I'm being objective, and I'm saying, 'you can not convince me that that was not a catch, Buffalo possession, ball at the 20. You can't convince.' I'm speaking up because I feel strongly that that was a catch and that possession should have been ball belongs to Buffalo. I can't agree with their assessment of a change of possession or whatever the statement was. I can't agree with that. We're not just going to sit here and take it, is what I'm saying. We're not just going to sit here and take it. I'm pissed off about it, and I feel strongly, as I've looked at it in review in my own locker, that it's a catch, possession Buffalo, and that the process should have been (long pause) ... handled differently. I don't understand why the head official who is at the game does not get a chance to look at the same thing people in New York are ruling on."
The rest of the conversation goes "off record."
