Sean McDermott came to the defense of his players and vented his frustrations toward a perceived slight by the referees during the Buffalo Bills’ divisional round loss to the Denver Broncos in the NFL playoffs.
The Bills coach targeted his postgame frustrations at the game’s officials for their call of Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian’s interception against quarterback Josh Allen.
The Bills’ head coach expressed his belief that the play – which set up the Broncos’ game-winning field goal moments later – should have either been ruled a catch or been the subject of a closer, ‘slowed down’ look prior to the Broncos’ ensuing offensive possession.
‘I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it,’ McDermott said after the game. ‘I’m standing up for us.’
‘It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled,’ McDermott said. ‘And if it is ruled that way, then why wasn’t it slowed down just to make sure that we have this right. That would have made a lot of sense to me – to make sure we have this thing right. Because that’s a pivotal play in the game. We (would have had) the ball at the 20, maybe kicking a game-winning field goal right there.
‘So I’ll just leave it at that, and I’m saying it because I’m standing up for Buffalo, damn it. I’m standing up for us. Because what went on is not how it should go down. These guys spent three hours out there playing football, pouring their guts out. To not even say, ‘Hey, let’s just slow this thing down.’ That’s why I’m bothered.’
Sean McDermott shares more frustration after press conference
McDermott made additional comments regarding his thoughts on the interception call in a pool report to The Buffalo News writer Jay Skurski after his press conference. The Bills’ head coach doubled down on his thoughts that the play should have been ruled a catch by receiver Brandin Cooks, rather than an interception in favor of the Broncos and McMillian.
‘Here’s the deal, right? The fans deserve more,’ McDermott said, according to The Buffalo News. ‘The players certainly deserve more. They deserve an explanation, and it’s a shame that a game is decided on a call like that, and there is no time spent with the head official going underneath the hood or to the replay booth, right?
‘I don’t understand how that works. I don’t understand how that could be the case when it’s such a close play, so basically there is one person ruling on that play or, only New York ruling on that play? I don’t agree with that. If that’s the case, I don’t agree with that.’
McDermott went on to triple down on his assessment of the play and reiterated that he felt a need to speak up because he believed his team was wronged.
‘We’re not just going to sit here and take it,’ he said, per The Buffalo News. ‘I’m pissed off about it, and I feel strongly as I’ve looked at it in review in my own locker that it’s a catch, and that the process should have been handled differently.’
The Bills will have to wait at least one more year for their first AFC title since 1993. The Broncos, with their win, moved on to the AFC championship game, where they’ll play the winner of Jan. 18’s New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans divisional game.