Bills’ postseason nightmare deepens as replay controversy twists the knife once again

The NFL postseason has been particularly harsh to the Buffalo Bills. Some of it was self-inflicted; a 5-turnover outing is hard to overcome any time, let alone the Divisional Round. But others have been left up for debate, such as the instance of Brandin Cooks catching or not catching a pass that was awarded to Ja'Quan McMillian.

If you accept the explanation given, Brandin Cooks didn’t fully survive the process of the catch to the ground, which allowed McMillian to gain possession since the ball never touched the ground. Not all of Bills Mafia is convinced that it really happened that way, while head coach Sean McDermott voiced his frustration in not getting a longer look at the play.

It wasn’t enough for the Bills Mafia to see the New England Patriots punch their ticket to the AFC Championship. Their defense, which forced four turnovers from C.J. Stroud in their Divisional Round win, will take on Jarrett Stidham, who hasn’t played since 2023. No, the NFC matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Chicago Bears had to twist the knife just a bit more.

Bills Mafia watches a Brandin Cooks replay unfold in real time

Earliy in the fourth quarter, facing a 2nd and 10, Matthew Stafford fired a bullet pass over the middle to Davante Adams, who seemed to have lost the ball in a similar fashion to Cooks on Saturday. Only, when the officials signal the ruling was a catch, everyone seemed to believe it was quite obvious that Adams completed the catch.

Of course, there wasn’t such certainty in Cooks’s case. Bills Mafia have seen the angles that have them convinced that Cooks caught his pass as well as Adams did.

Accepting that the NFL isn’t going back to change the ruling, this whole scenario, of Chris Collinsworth and the NBC audience being quickly shown a clear angle where one didn’t come in time for Buffalo, just adds to the frustrations of this offseason.

The Rams got to keep their drive alive. The Bills just wanted a longer look and an explanation, and now they see a team get to take the necessary step to extend their season that Buffalo felt was owed to them as well.  

Between the Patriots getting a Bo Nix-less Broncos in the AFC Championship and the Rams getting the look Buffalo believes they didn’t get, this postseason nightmare just seems built to pick on the Bills. Its merciful end can’t come soon enough for Western New York.