Important questions about the close calls in the Broncos’ win over the Bills

When all eyes are on one NFL playoff game, officiating decisions attract a lot of attention. Throw in the pressure of overtime, and you get the heated debate that erupted at the end of the Denver Broncos’ 33-30 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Saturday’s divisional round.

The result opened up three calls in overtime, one unusual one that ended possession of the Laws and two other interference calls on Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White that produced 47 penalty yards in the Broncos’ win. The conflict between the two pass interference flags was not lost on longtime viewers of Broncos coach Sean Payton, who lost a chance to advance to Super Bowl LIII in 2019 — while he was the coach of the New Orleans Saints — largely because of a missed pass interference call in the NFC Championship game.

Let’s take a closer look at each situation in Saturday night’s game.

The situation: The Bills had the ball at their 36-yard line, and a third down with 11 yards to go. Quarterback Josh Allen threw a deep ball over the right hashmark to receiver Brandin Cooks. Broncos linebacker Ja’Quan McMillian was in the backfield. Cooks made a jump ball, but the ball went out of his hands and into McMillian as soon as Cooks was on the ground.

The phone: Referee Carl Cheffers’ team decided to stop the game.

Analysis: In fact, the Cheffers team said Cooks didn’t have the ball before it went into McMillian’s hands. And because the ball didn’t hit the ground, it was still there at the time.

According to the NFL’s rulebook, Cooks had to do three things to show possession and be awarded the catch. First, he had to completely control the ball with his hands or arms, which he did. Then, he had to be on the borders, which, yes, he was. Third, he had to perform another normal action in the game or maintain control of the ball long enough to do so.

The rulebook includes this note: “If a player who has completed the first two, but not the third catch requirement, makes contact with the ground and fails to control the ball, there is no catch.”

The video of the game shows that this is what happened. The ball went from Cooks to McMillian when Cooks made contact with the ground. Therefore, Cooks did not meet the NFL’s definition of possession. McMillian did. He controlled the ball, he was inbound and he was able to control when he rolled to Cooks.

Rating: “It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was,” said Bills coach Sean McDermott.

Status: The Broncos had the ball at their own 47-yard line, facing second and 10. Quarterback Bo Nix floated a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Courtland Sutton on the sideline, with White covered. The ball fell incomplete

The phone: White flagged for pass interference.

Analysis: The NFL rulebook defines pass interference as “any action by a player more than one yard beyond the line of scrimmage that significantly impedes an eligible player’s opportunity to catch the ball.” It also lists some appropriate actions, including those that, in theory, can be used for White in this game.

Players are prohibited from “holding the arm of an opposing player in a manner that impedes his opportunity to catch a pass.” Watching the replay in slow motion, it appears that White caught Sutton’s right arm briefly, as Cheffers noted afterward in the pool report.

Outside of the situations listed in the rulebook, pass interference usually comes down to a judgment call. When is prevention most important?

Bills are often able to cross the line. They were tied for the fewest pass defense flags in the NFL this season (four). And in this case, an argument can be made that the connection with White did not seem important. These calls are difficult to see in real time, but a reasonable person can watch the game and say that the incompletion is due to contact with White.

The situation: The Broncos had the ball at the Bills’ 38-yard line, facing second-and-12. Nix floated a pass downfield to receiver Marvin Mims Jr., with White in possession. The ball fell incomplete.

Telephone: Cheffers flagged White for defensive pass interference, a 30-yard fumble that put the Broncos in position for a short game-winning field goal.

Analysis: After getting the early call, Nix went for another two plays later. In this case, White’s contact proved to be very important. He grabbed Mims and circled his body and started to tackle him before the ball arrived. It doesn’t matter if Mims would have caught the pass without the contact. White’s contact prevented Mims from having the chance that the rulebook insists he must catch the ball.