In a game that ended with more questions than answers, the Buffalo Bills' season came to a crushing halt on Saturday night - and not without controversy.
The moment that will stick with Bills fans - and likely haunt them for a while - came in overtime. Quarterback Josh Allen fired a pass to Brandin Cooks, and to just about everyone watching, it looked like a completed catch.
Cooks went to the ground with the ball in his grasp. But when the dust settled, the officials ruled it an interception by Denver Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillan.
Just like that, what could’ve been a game-winning drive for Buffalo turned into a possession for Denver. The Broncos capitalized, marching down the field and kicking the field goal that ended the Bills’ playoff hopes.
And with that, the NFL's most frustrating riddle resurfaced: What exactly is a catch?
Head referee Carl Cheffers offered an explanation postgame, telling pool reporter Jeff Legwold that Cooks “lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground,” and that McMillan “completed the process of the catch.” According to Cheffers, the replay confirmed that the ball never hit the turf - and that McMillan had secured it cleanly. The ruling on the field stood: interception.
That explanation didn’t sit well with Bills head coach Sean McDermott. He was visibly frustrated after the game, not just with the call itself, but with how quickly the replay review was completed. In a moment that called for absolute clarity, the process felt anything but thorough to the Bills sideline.
To be fair, the controversial call wasn’t the only reason Buffalo’s season ended Saturday. The Bills turned the ball over five times - a brutal stat line in any playoff game.
But this one stung differently. This one felt like it could’ve gone either way, and instead, it slipped through their fingers - literally and figuratively.
At the end of the day, the Bills didn’t make enough plays to survive, but that doesn’t make the ending any easier to swallow. For a team that’s been knocking on the door of a championship for several seasons now, this loss adds another chapter to a growing book of postseason heartbreak.
And for the rest of us? We’re left, once again, trying to define what should be the simplest thing in football: a catch.