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Joe Burrow says he is ‘flabbergasted’ by the outrage over two controversial calls in the NFL playoffs at the weekend, instead claiming referees got both of them right.
The first of those contentious decisions came in the Denver Broncos’ thrilling overtime win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night, when many felt a costly Josh Allen interception should have been ruled a catch.
During the Bills’ overtime possession, quarterback Allen launched a deep pass downfield to Brandin Cooks, only for the ball to be wrestled out of his hands by Broncos defender Ja’Quan McMillian.
Officials ruled it an interception after concluding that McMillian already had the ball when Cooks was down by contact, before Denver went on to score a game-winning field goal and advance to the AFC Championship game.
The following day, fans then accused referees of contradicting themselves when the Chicago Bears were denied what would have been a crucial interception during their own overtime defeat to the Los Angeles Rams.
Rams receiver Davante Adams was deemed to have taken the catch from quarterback Matthew Stafford before the ball was knocked out of his hands, a call which led to confusion and anger online after the Bills-Broncos ruling.
Joe Burrow is ‘flabbergasted’ by the outrage over two controversial calls in the NFL playoffs
NFL referees sparked fury by ruling an interception in Buffalo’s loss to Denver (left) and then the opposite in Los Angeles’ win over Chicago (right)
However, almost two years since his last post, Burrow has ended his X hiatus to side with the referees over both decisions.
‘The amount of ppl that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me,’ the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback said. ‘And it’s not the officials. The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right.’
Burrow, who had not posted on X since April 2024, clearly feels strongly about the debate after returning to social media to make his point.
In Denver on Saturday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott – who has since been fired – couldn’t challenge the ruling because of the league’s overtime rules, so he called a timeout to give the officiating crew and replay officials a chance to take an extended look.
The play had already been confirmed through the NFL’s expedited review process in New York, so the timeout essentially just gave him an opportunity to get an explanation.
McDermott, of course, wasn’t pleased after his team’s 33-30 loss. But he was even more upset by the appearance of a rushed process. There are routine plays in regular-season games that are examined more in depth on replay reviews.
‘When I called the timeout, Carl [Cheffers, head referee] came over and those guys were great. They were great, and I said, “Hey, what did you see?” and then quickly, somebody said: “Hey, New York has confirmed. New York has confirmed,”‘ McDermott said.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott expressed anger over the call before being fired this week
‘From that point, it was a moot point. We were moving on. Had I not called a timeout, they were just moving on, it appeared.
‘This is not about, “Hey, we lost.” It’s not about that at all. You play the game, you play it fair and square. I just, again, wish just for the sake of the players and all the time and energy that was spent – three hours, 70-plus minutes of a game… That was a pivotal play, that’s all I’m saying.’
In Chicago, Bears head coach Ben Johnson didn’t challenge the call on Adams, before the Rams scored a touchdown five plays later to go 17-10 ahead.
They eventually prevailed 20-17 after a sensational touchdown pass from quarterback Caleb Williams saw the hosts salvage overtime.
