Controversial Interception Call During Broncos Bills Game Raises Eyebrows In Buffalo

As the Divisional Round of the 2025/26 NFL Playoffs wraps up, we all have a clearer picture of what teams will have a chance to travel to Santa Clara, California, to play in Super Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8, 2026. After four big games, Seattle, New England, Los Angeles, and Denver all move on to the conference championships, while Houston, San Francisco, Chicago, and Buffalo will watch the rest of the playoffs from home.

For those of us who are members of the Bills Mafia, the divisional round was a hard game to watch. Not only did the Bills lose, but the way that the team lost is perhaps most troubling.

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One of the most controversial calls of the game was the catch that seemed like it was made by Brandon Cooks, which was eventually ruled an interception. According to Rule 8, Section 1, Articles 3 (C)4 of the NFL Rule Book:

If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control.
-NFL Rulebook

When Cooks came down with the ball in his possession, it appeared that it was a catch, and he was down by contact from the Broncos Ja'quan McMillian. However, the game officials ruled that McMillian in fact took possession of the ball from Cook,s and it was an interception.

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What we all watched during the game seemed to show that it was a good catch by Cooks. But you can't argue with the refs, and that was a key play that allowed Denver to go on to win.

That should be the end of the discussion; however, it's not because during Sunday's Divisional games, nearly the exact same thing happened in both games, and those were ruled catches for the offense, not interceptions by the defense.

We've known for a while that there are inconsistencies in officiating games, but it seems like the refs are using a different rule book for one game compared to the other two.

Hopefully, the off-season will see the NFL make some changes to make sure that the rules are applied evenly across the league.