Questioning what is and what isn\u2019t a catch in the NFL is nothing new. However, the latest controversial ruling determined the outcome of a critical, heavily bet and watched playoff game.<\/p>\n
Key Takeaways<\/p>\n
Brandin Cooks appeared to haul in Josh Allen’s pass in overtime Saturday, but officials ruled it an interception.<\/p>\n
Denver’s interception was a significant factor in the outcome of a game that went the way of sportsbooks.<\/p>\n
The NFL\u2019s response postgame supported the ruling on the field and by replay officials.<\/p>\n
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Saturday\u2019s Bills-Broncos divisional-round game was an overtime thriller, but it left bettors, fans, former players, and the head coach of the losing team wondering what in the world happened on an overtime play that likely would\u2019ve resulted in an entirely different outcome.<\/p>\n
Tied at 30 in overtime and the Bills needing any score to win, Buffalo receiver Brandin Cooks appeared to haul in a Josh Allen pass at the Denver 20-yard line. However, as Cooks went to the ground, Broncos defensive back Ja\u2019Quan McMillian wrested the ball away.<\/p>\n
Officials ruled the play an interception, taking away Buffalo\u2019s chance to kick a game-winning field goal and giving the Broncos another possession. Bills head coach Sean McDermott, who was ultimately fired Monday, couldn\u2019t challenge the play because it was in overtime, so he called a timeout to give replay officials time to take a longer look at the play to see if Cooks was down before McMillan took the ball.<\/p>\n
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Call\u00a0under fire<\/p>\n
Video evidence appeared to support McDermott wanting an extra look at the play, but referees told McDermott that replay officials in New York had already confirmed the interception call without the need for a lengthy review, which happens more often than not in the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom\u00a0that point, it was a moot point,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cWe were moving on. Had I not called a timeout, they were just moving on, it appeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denver then used its possession to move into field-goal range after one of several controversial pass interference calls throughout the game. The Broncos nailed a 23-yard kick to win 33-30 and advance to Sunday\u2019s AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n
Buffalo\u2019s season came to an end, and the 1.5-point underdog, which was getting a slight majority of bets and handle at BetMGM before the game, left Bills bettors and backers feeling like the rug was pulled out from under them. The controversial outcome produced a \u201csmall win for the book,\u201d Caesars head of football Joey Feazell said Monday.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis is not about, \u2018Hey, we lost.\u2019 It\u2019s not about that at all. You play the game, you play it fair and square,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cThat was a pivotal play, that\u2019s all I\u2019m saying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Explanations, aftermath<\/p>\n
The NFL\u2019s official rules state that a catch is completed when the receiver:<\/p>\n
(a)\u00a0secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and<\/p>\n
(b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and<\/p>\n
(c) after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, clearly performs any act common to the game (e.g., extend the ball forward, take an additional step, tuck the ball away and turn up field, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.<\/p>\n
Referee Carl Cheffers said in a pool reporter statement postgame that Cooks lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground as \u201cpart of the process of the catch.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe\u00a0defender gained possession of it at that point,\u201d Cheffers added. \u201cThe defender is the one that completed the process of the catch, so the defender was awarded the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NFL\u2019s officiating and rules analyst, Walt Anderson, supported the explanation Sunday morning, which drew the ire of fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the receiver\u2019s going to the ground, as soon as he hits the ground, the ball is immediately loose,” Anderson said on NFL Network. That would be an incomplete pass if it comes out and hits the ground. Here, the ball never hits the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
The issue, as many pointed out, is Cook seemed to hit the ground with possession before McMillian ripped it away.<\/p>\n
CBS’ rules analyst, Gene Steratore, argued that slowing down the speed of the play \u201cdistorts what actually happened and makes it look like\u201d Cooks had the ball. <\/p>\n
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\u201cThe\u00a0interception is a wild play, with a lot going on,\u201d Steratore said on X<\/a>. \u201cSeeing it full speed, I thought it was an interception and would\u2019ve ruled it that way if I was on the field. My perspective on it is that Cooks lost the ball as soon as his body hit the\u00a0ground. In my opinion, if there was no defender near him and he lost the ball when he hit the ground, the ruling would\u2019ve been incomplete.\u201d <\/p>\n A similar play happened in Sunday\u2019s NFC divisional-round game between the Rams and Bears when a Davante Adams catch was ruled complete before the ball came loose, likely upsetting Bills fans and bettors even more.<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on Covers.com<\/a>, read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Questioning what is and what isn\u2019t a catch in the NFL is nothing new. However, the latest controversial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":689690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9266,232,5430,231,7,5820,872,22474,249,6,19604,3026],"class_list":["post-689689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-brandin-cooks","tag-broncos","tag-davante-adams","tag-denver","tag-football","tag-interception","tag-josh-allen","tag-marshall-newhouse","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-richard-sherman","tag-sean-mcdermott"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115924060480397558","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=689689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/689689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/689690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=689689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=689689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=689689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}