Saturday’s AFC Divisional Round game between the Denver Broncos and the Buffalo Bills delivered a thrilling ending in overtime. But before that game ended, fans were treated to a different one.
Bills’ controversial catch-turned-interception ends in Broncos victory in NFL playoffs
The Broncos are moving on to the AFC Championship Game. This play is a big reason why
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Another installment of the fan favorite: “What’s a catch?”
Or perhaps in this case, “what’s an interception.”
The game advanced to overtime after Buffalo’s Matt Prater drilled a field goal in the final seconds to tie the game at 30-30. After the Bills forced a Denver punt on the first possession of overtime, Josh Allen and the Bills had a chance to win the game with a score of their own. But with Buffalo facing a 3rd-and-10 situation in their own territory, Allen tried to get almost all the yardage he needed on a throw to Brandin Cooks.
As the old segments from the 1980s used to say, you make the call:
Here is another angle to help your decision:
As you can hear in the second replay, CBS Sports rule analyst Gene Steratore states that he “was not sure” that Cooks had possession of the throw as he rolled to the turf, which allowed McMillian to rip the football away from the receiver, and secure the interception.
And also as you might expect, opinions on social media were … mixed.
As a turnover, the play was automatically reviewed and the interception stood. Denver, thanks to a few different Buffalo penalties on the subsequent possession — including one very questionable pass interference penalty — got into position for the game-winning field goal.
Final score: Denver 33, Buffalo 30. The Broncos are headed to the AFC Championship Game.
Update: Here is the pool report with Carl Cheffers regarding the play:
But you are probably going to hear about this play in the days, and maybe even weeks, to come.
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