Gene Steratore wants NFL rule change as furious Bills demand explanation after key overtime call

The Buffalo Bills had victory in their grasp, but the Denver Broncos snatched it away.

Bills wideout Brandin Cooks thought he had hauled in a catch to set up a potential game-winning field goal in overtime of the Divisional Round showdown.

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But as he hit the turf, Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian ripped the ball away for a vital interception, Denver took over on the 20 and drove down the field to advance to the AFC Championship with a kick of their own.

Buffalo coach Sean McDermott hit out at the ‘pivotal’ call in his postgame interviews.

“It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled,” he 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, because that’s a pivotal play in the game.

“We’d have the ball at the 20 and maybe kicking a game-winning field goal right there. So I’ll just leave it at that.”

McDermott says the NFL owes the city of Buffalo an explanation.

“That play is not even close, that’s a catch all the way,” he said.

“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?”

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Bills-Broncos refs got key call right

Many fans agree with McDermott and claim replays showed a clear catch.

CBS Sports rules analyst Gene Steratore thinks the controversy could be limited by a tweak to how video replay operates.

“At some point when reviewing plays, the league should consider adding a speed threshold for anything involving the element of time,” he posted on X.

“When you slow plays down to 1/100th the speed, it distorts what actually happened and makes it look like, in this case, Cooks possessed the ball for seconds prior to losing it. The game is not played in slow motion or frame by frame.”

McDermott may not want to hear it, but the former official insists the call was spot on.

“Because Cooks did lose control of the ball when he contacted the ground and the ball never contacted the ground, it was ruled an interception by Denver,” added Steratore.

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The Broncos may still be in the hunt for Super Bowl LX, which fans can watch here, but victory came at a cost.

Head coach Sean Payton has confirmed that quarterback Bo Nix suffered a season-ending injury.

“Not good news,” he told reporters as he took the podium for his press conference.

“He’s scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday, which will put him out for the season… it is what it is.”

QB Jarrett Stidham will fill in for Nix in the AFC Championship Game next Sunday.

With four career starts, he will be the most inexperienced quarterback ever to begin a Conference Championship under center.

Jeff Hostetler had five career starts, including the playoffs, entering the 1990 NFC Championship Game.

The New York Giants icon ended up stunning Steve Young‘s San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park before winning Super Bowl XXV against the Bills — one of four consecutive defeats that the franchise has not recovered from.

The wait goes on.

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