Man, you gotta feel for Brandin Cooks. Even now, the guy is still reeling from that divisional playoff game in Denver. He told Tim Graham of TheAthletic.com straight up, "I still feel like it was a catch." That's the kind of gut punch that sticks with a player, the kind of play that haunts you. We've all screamed at the TV over a bad call, and this one? It clearly still eats at him.
The Play That Ended a Season for Buffalo
Remember that wild overtime? It was a divisional playoff game, an absolute nail-biter. Buffalo was driving hard, and Cooks had what looked like a sure catch in his hands at the Broncos' 20-yard line. That put the Bills squarely in game-winning field goal range, set to send them straight to the AFC Championship Game. But then, Denver's Ja’Quan McMillian swooped in, ripping the ball right out of Cooks' arms for an interception. Just like that, everything flipped. The Broncos, of course, went down the field and booted their own game-winning field goal on the very next possession. Season over. Brutal, absolutely brutal.
The Mind Game of a Call That Won't Quit
You think that gut-wrenching moment just disappears from a player's head? Not a chance. Cooks admitted, "For a week straight, I was watching it over and over." Can you imagine reliving that? He eventually had to force himself to stop, for his family. As he put it, "But I knew, as a father, that I had to put it away. If I’d have kept watching, it would have put me in some type of mood that my wife and my kids didn’t deserve." The NFL confirmed the official's call of an interception was correct. But try telling that to the guy who caught it! Cooks still believes he had possession and was down before McMillian got the ball. It’s the kind of officiating debate that drives fans wild, year after year.
"Yo, What Is Going On?" With These Calls?
Cooks isn't letting it go mentally. He said he "will continue to process it until I get back on the field." That's a serious commitment. And get this: he even got so fed up with what he saw *after* his game that he turned off the playoffs entirely! He mentioned seeing other "so-called controversial calls that were called a catch," and that's when he thought, "Yo, what is going on?" He just had to turn it off. It goes to show you that even when the league doubles down, sometimes it just doesn't feel right for the players. That kind of frustration can influence mental games for a long time. You just hope that moving forward, these kinds of borderline calls get sorted out better. We fans deserve that clarity, and more importantly, the players do.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.