Tre'Davious White's ref confrontation captured everything about the Bills' collapse

This was supposed to be the Buffalo Bills' easiest path to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1993. There was no Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow to haunt the Bills. Yet, they couldn't make it easy for themselves.

Facing off against the Denver Broncos, the Bills had four turnovers in regulation. Yet they forced overtime with a 30-30 score. Yet, Josh Allen was credited for his second interception after the ball was ripped out of wide receiver Brandin Cooks' hands by Broncos cornerback Ja'Quan McMillian. With the Broncos starting off deep in their own territory, all the Bills defense needed to do was stop them.

They couldn't. To make matters worse, that drive was marred with penalties. There was Taron Johnson being called for defensive pass interference on wide receiver Courtland Sutton for a 17-yard gain for Denver. Two plays later, Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White committed a defensive pass interference penalty on Marvin Mims Jr. There was really no arguing it, as White made contact with Mims well before the football arrived in their vicinity.

To make matters that much worse, White approached the ref who threw the penalty flag, yelled at him, and then threw his helmet to the turf. Because of that, he received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to move the Broncos closer for their eventual game-winning field goal.

Tre'Davious White's meltdown against refs was perfect encapsulation of another Bills playoff collapse

Bills Mafia didn't need to see this. Sure, the Johnson defensive pass interference was questionable, but White's penalty was obvious. Then to yell at the referee to pick up another penalty? Yeah, Bills fans didn't need to see that.

The Bills have already had the distinction of being the franchise that made it to the Super Bowl four years in a row, winning none of them. The Bills then entered a stretch from 1999 until 2017 where they didn't make the playoffs at all. But it seemed in recent years, ever since Allen became their franchise quarterback, they could finally win a Lombardi Trophy.

Yet every time the Bills had a chance to make a run to the Super Bowl, they fell short. Four times they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and Mahomes. Then, there was the Cincinnati Bengals and Burrow in 2022. Now, we can add Bo Nix and the Broncos in 2025.

It's rare for a team to win a game, let alone a playoff game, with five turnovers. Sure, Allen did his best in the second half to try and carry the load for his team, but it was too little, too late. Add the Cook error in overtime and the three penalties on that final drive, and you have another heartbreaking loss for Buffalo.

This was Buffalo's best chance to finally exorcise their demons and make it back to the Super Bowl for the first time in over 30 years. But countless mistakes once again doomed them, including White's two penalties late in overtime.