Bills-Broncos Game Shows NFL Has Serious Problems To Address

The AFC Divisional Round playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos was exciting, unpredictable, and messy. Turnovers galore led to rapid momentum swings and lead changes. As expected, and has become common practice in the NFL as defenses wear down throughout the game, the fourth quarter was frenetic, chaotic and filled with offense. 

That's one of the NFL's problems, but overtime highlighted where the league has an even more significant issue: trust and consistency in officiating. And it's because, in part, to how the league operates and communicates. 

By Sunday afternoon, everyone's had a chance to see the controversial calls and decisions that the referees made to essentially decide the outcome of the game. And everyone will have their own opinion of the validity of those calls. But as a quick refresher, the Bills were driving down the field with an opportunity to win the game. On 3rd and 11, Josh Allen threw a deep pass to Brandin Cooks, which Cooks appeared to catch and hit the ground while being contacted by the defensive player. But Ja'Quan McMillian wrestled the ball away on the ground, and the referees ruled it an interception.

Many outside officiating experts defended the call, and of course, the on-air rules expert defended it. But Bills fans have posted several similar plays that resulted in a different outcome. And therein lies the problem.  

Denver Broncos cornerback Ja'quan McMillian reaches in on Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks who has the ball and whose knee is on the ground during overtime at Empower FIeld at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on Jan. 17, 2026.

Inconsistent NFL Officiating And League's Attitude Creates Issues

Here's one example of a similar play, from a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Aaron Rodgers threw a ball that was batted back towards him. He caught it, his knees hit the ground, and the ball was ripped away by a Ravens defensive player at the same time. 

Interception, right? Just like the play in the Bills game? 

Nope. Not an interception. Ruled completely differently. After that game and ruling, the NFL's V.P. of instant replay addressed it, telling reporters "The offensive player had control of the ball and as he was going to the ground, there was a hand in there, but he never lost control of the ball. So therefore, by rule, he is down by contact with control of the ball."

Sounds exactly like the Cooks situation, doesn't it? Apparently not! 

This is how things work in the NFL. Similar plays can be ruled completely differently based on how officials interpret the situation. And because the league is extremely, aggressively, sensitive to criticism or accountability, they will often simply defend whatever the ruling on the field happened to be. Even if it seems absurd to those watching. Replays of this play were filled with comments like, "nobody knows what a catch is." And the problem is, that's an inarguable truth. Nobody knows. There are explanations in the rule book, but those explanations can be subjectively enforced. 

Then, on the ensuing Broncos drive, there were two pass interference calls made on Bills' defensive backs that effectively ended the game. And the second was clearly based on strategy from the Broncos coaching staff and quarterback Bo Nix. After officials were booed vociferously by the home crowd, they threw a downfield one-on-one pass, and got a ridiculously beneficial call. 

Then, realizing that they could once again exploit the trigger-happy refs, they threw another deep pass, and once again, got the call. 

Was the second play pass interference? Probably. But as is often the case in the NFL, the rules are selectively enforced. They're easily exploited when a team, like the Broncos, realize they can. Then the league will vociferously deny that there's even a problem to address. Fans though, disagree. 

OutKick founder Clay Travis posted a poll on X Sunday morning asking for opinions on officiating and whether the league has fans' trust to call games fairly. The results were, well, overwhelming.

Will this impact ratings or viewership or fan interest? No, of course not. Television viewership for the NFL will never go down, because gambling, fantasy, daily fantasy, and the desire to throw on nationally televised sporting events while scrolling smartphone screens will never stop. The NFL capitalized on the inherent advantages it has, like a shorter schedule, big numbers over small ones making fans think games are exciting, national broadcast windows on a few days per week, and winter weather keeping viewers at home, to become the biggest sport in the country. 

Gambling has supersized that advantage, making every game a "must-watch," even if relatively few actually care about the outcome. And the league knows that it can do no wrong, as long as those advantages are in place. If the average score of an NFL game were 3-2 instead of 23-20, or something similar, fans would say games were boring. If smartphones didn't make the endless slog of commercials and pointless sideline shots more tolerable, fans would say games are boring. Inconsistent officiating and bizarre rules have diminished trust in what the audience is watching. But the NFL's strategy is to tamp down on criticism, never admit wrongdoing or flaws in the product, and hope people care more about gambling than quality. Bills-Broncos once again exposed major issues the league is facing. Just don't expect them to do anything about it.