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Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow may not be in the playoffs, but he is intervening on some of the controversial playoff plays.
The catch versus no catch debate involving Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks is still being talked about after the team’s divisional round loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.
While many have given their views on the controversial play, the remaining two divisional round games on Sunday also featured questionable catching decisions.
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Ja’quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos intercepts a pass intended for Brandin Cooks of the Buffalo Bills during overtime in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Empower Field At Mile High on January 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Matthieu Stockman/Getty Images)
Burrow appeared to be on the side of the officials in all cases.
“It amazes me how many people don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book. And it’s not the officials,” Burrow wrote on X. “The two plays yesterday weren’t tough decisions, and they both made them.”
The game involving Cooks continues to be an issue for football fans, not to mention the city of Buffalo. Had he made a catch, Matt Prater could have made it with a field goal, and the Bills would be heading to New England.
Instead, the play was ruled an interception by the Broncos, who ultimately won the game and advanced to the AFC Championship Game.
As for the two plays that Burrow is referring to in his tweet, it’s unclear exactly what he’s talking about, but there was one play from every game on Sunday where a debate ensued.
First, Houston Texans receiver Xavier Hutchinson fumbled, but the play was ruled a catch after officials’ review. Then Los Angeles Rams star Davante Adams had a similar situation when his knee hit the turf, but he fumbled.
In both cases, the offense maintained control of the ball, although some thought Cook’s play should have produced the same result.
NFL rules analyst Walt Anderson weighed in on the Broncos’ interception, saying Jaquan McMillan effectively took the ball away from Cooks, who he said never had full control of it.
“Replay has all these angles to take a look and see ‘was the call on the field wrong, or was the call on the field correct?'” Anderson said on NFL Network. “If you can confirm that the decision on the field is correct, they really want to move the game forward and they don’t want to have unnecessary stops.”
Sean McDermott, who has since been fired from his role as head coach of the Bills, was furious with the call confirmation process. He wanted the officials to take a long look at the play, which led to his timeout call.
Joe Burrow (9) of the Cincinnati Bengals plays against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on September 7, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Grégory Shamus/Getty Images)
“It would make sense to me … that the head official would come in and want to take a look at it, just to make sure that everyone in the stadium from here to there is on the same page. It’s too important a play, in my opinion, and a play that potentially decided the game too, to even slow it down,” McDermott said.
“It’s hard for me to understand why it was set up that way. If it’s set up that way, then why didn’t he slow down just to make sure we got it right? That would have made a lot of sense to me, to make sure we set it up right. Because it’s a crucial play in the game. We have the ball at the 20, maybe scoring a game-winning field goal right there. So I’ll leave it at that.”
