The ball — and the call — were out of their hands.
After a series of controversial calls went against the Bills Saturday late in their NFL divisional round overtime loss to the Broncos, head coach Sean McDermott unloaded on the referees during his postgame press conference.
In particular, McDermott took issue with a play in overtime where Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian was awarded an interception after ripping a pass out of receiver Brandin Cooks’ hands.
Cooks appeared to be down on the play, but the ruling on Josh Allen’s third-and-11 pass swung the momentum and set up Denver’s 33-30 win.
“It’s hard for me to — and I’ve had a chance to look at it — it’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled,” McDermott said. “If it is ruled that way, then why wasn’t it slowed down just to make sure that we have this right?
“That would have made a lot of sense to me, to make sure that we have this thing right, because that’s a pivotal play in the game. We have the ball at the 20 [yard line] and we may be kicking a game-winning field goal right there, so I’ll just leave it at that.”
Referee Carl Cheffers explained the ruling after the game.
“The receiver has to complete the process of a catch,” Cheffers told a pool reporter. “He was going to the tround as part of the process of the catch and he lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground. The defender gained possession of it at that point. The defender is the one that completed the process of the catch, so the defender was awarded the ball.”
While the interception was a major turning point, it was also one of five costly turnovers for Buffalo, which included two interceptions by Allen and two lost fumbles.
An emotional, teary-eyed Allen did not harp on the officiating during his presser — but McDermott struck a far less conciliatory tone.
“I’m saying it because I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it,” McDermott added. “I’m standing up for us. What went on, that is not how it should go down, in my estimation. These guys spent three hours out there playing football, pouring their guts out. To not even say, ‘Hey, let’s slow this thing down.’ That’s where I’m bothered.”
The 51-year-old took an even harder line after his postgame availability, telling Buffalo News reporter Jay Skurski in a phone call that he was “pissed off” and that the interception ruling was “not even close.”
“Here’s the deal, right? The fans deserve more. The players certainly deserve more. They deserve an explanation,” McDermott said. “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 — 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 there is one person 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 that that is the best approach to decide a game like that.”
Saturday’s loss marked the Bills’ latest postseason heartbreak under McDermott, who took over as head coach in 2017.
Buffalo has yet to reach a Super Bowl during his tenure, failing to advance past the AFC Championship Game with McDermott and Allen, the team’s 2018 first-round pick.