Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was hot after the officials’ highly controversial decision to award the Broncos with an interception on what appeared to be a clean catch by his wide receiver Brandin Cooks.
And he didn’t simmer down on the flight home either.
Many NFL fans were shocked on Saturday when the referees seemingly took no time to review a pivotal play during the overtime period, where Bills receiver Brandin Cooks appeared to be down with possession of the ball, only to have Denver’s JaQuan McMillan take the ball away.
The official immediately ruled the play an interception and, despite Bills head coach Sean McDermott calling a timeout to give the referee time to review the call, it was quickly upheld.
The Broncos took possession of the ball and marched down the field to kick what would ultimately be the game-winning field goal to advance to the AFC championship game.
In his post-game press conference, McDermott let his frustrations with the officials flow.
“It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled,” McDermott said. “And if it is ruled that way, then why wasn’t it slowed down just to make sure we have this right? That would’ve made a lot of sense to me … 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.
“So I’ll just leave it at that, but I’m saying it because I’m standing up for Buffalo, dammit. I’m standing up for us because what went on is not how it should go down in my estimation. These guys spent three hours out there, playing football and pouring their guts out to not even say, ‘Hey, let’s just slow this thing down.’ That’s why I’m bothered.”
McDermott’s frustrations did not subside with time. On the team plane, he reached out to Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News to double down on his comments in the press conference.
“That play is not even close,” McDermott told Skurski. “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?”
After being asked if there was any recourse the Bills could take with the league, McDermott didn’t seem optimistic.
“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, 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 with that — that that is the best approach to decide a game like that.”
When asked why he’s broken his typical rule of being cautious when it comes to criticizing officials, McDermott was blunt.
“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 [me].’ 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 Broncos await the winner of the Texans-Patriots game minus their starting quarterback. Denver, Bo Nix broke his ankle on the second-to-last play of the game and will require season-ending surgery.