The Buffalo Bills lost a heartbreaker to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round on Saturday. Turnovers plagued Buffalo throughout the matchup. But Josh Allen rallied in the fourth quarter and the Bills forced the game into overtime. Unfortunately, the referees would play a major role in the outcome. And controversial calls overshadowed the Broncos’ first postseason win in a decade.

Facing 3rd & 11 on the Bills’ first possession in overtime, Allen fired a deep ball to Brandin Cooks. The veteran wideout appeared to make the catch at the Broncos 20-yard line, setting Buffalo up for the game-winning field goal. But as Cooks went to the ground, Ja’Quan McMillian ripped the ball out of his hands and was awarded the interception.

Sean McDermott was not happy with how officials handled the situation. “It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled,” McDermott said, per The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov. “I’m saying it because I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it. I'm standing up for us. Because what went on, that is not how it should go down.”

Controversial call costs Bills in divisional round loss

Article Continues Below
Denver Broncos cornerback Ja'quan McMillian reaches in on Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks who has the ball and whose knee is on the ground during overtime at Empower FIeld at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Jan. 17, 2026.
Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While McDermott disagreed with the ruling, his gripe is primarily with the referees’ decision not to take a closer look at the play. “If it is ruled that way, then why wasn’t it slowed down? Just to make sure that we have this right. …Because that’s a pivotal play in the game. We have the ball at the 20, maybe kicking a game-winning field goal right there,” McDermott said.

Instead of the Bills having a shot at the game winner, Denver was awarded possession. The Broncos drove 75-yards and Will Lutz drilled a 23-yard field goal to send the team to the AFC Championship Game. Officials assisted Denver with 47 penalty yards on two pass interference calls during the final drive. But McDermott focused his ire on the Cooks catch/interception.

“Let’s [get] the head referee and give him a chance to look at the monitor, just to make sure… These guys spent 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,” McDermott explained.