Ja'Quan McMillian's interception among string of controversial overtime calls in Broncos-Bills

Story byAndy BackstromContributing writerSun, January 18, 2026 at 3:03 AM UTC·4 min readThe Buffalo Bills had already converted a pair of third downs on the road in overtime during Saturday's AFC divisional-round playoff game against the Denver Broncos. It looked like they moved the chains again when veteran wide receiver Brandin Cooks reeled in a downfield hurl from reigning NFL MVP quarterback Josh Allen. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut when Cooks rolled over after hitting the ground, Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian emerged with the ball. The ruling on the field was "interception."It didn't change, and it was among a string of controversial calls at Denver's Empower Field at Mile High, as the Broncos pulled out a 33-30 win in the extra frame to advance to the conference title game. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said postgame that he believes Cooks made a catch and was down by contact."It's hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled," McDermott said at the podium. "If it is ruled that way, then why wasn't it slowed down just to make sure that we have this right.