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Buffalo Bills wideout Brandin Cooks said he caught what ultimately became a controversial interception in the Denver Broncos’ overtime win Saturday night.
Cooks, 32, had the ball stripped from him by Broncos defensive back Ja’Quan McMillan after he appeared to complete the catch. The refs ruled it an interception that took the ball away from the Bills.
“At the end of the day, it was a catch. Not just how it looked like you said, but how it felt,” Cooks said during a recent appearance on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”
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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 in Denver, Colorado on January 17, 2026. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
“You see examples throughout the league all year, in previous years, and you’re like, wait a minute, if that was the catch, there’s an easy case that this was the catch. But I think when you look back on it, the time that was spent on it to review it wasn’t enough.”
Cooks lamented the lack of time spent on the review given the scale of the call. If it was ruled a catch, it would have moved the Bills into field goal range with a chance to win the game on a kick. Instead, the interception gave the Broncos the ball back to their offense with a chance to win the game.
“The first thing you think about, well, it’s overtime, so we can’t challenge it. And then when the timeout happens, I think, OK, there’s hope here,” Cooks said.
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Denver Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian intercepts a pass intended for Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks during overtime of an AFC divisional round playoff game at Empower Field at Mile High. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
“Like, okay, they’re about to take a look at this thing and get it right. And that’s what’s going through my mind, right? The offense is marching out there for Denver. Like, wait, wait, wait. You know, that timeout will give them some time to be able to, you know, see this through. Obviously, they haven’t looked it through, here we are and,.”
What further frustrated Cooks was that he was confident that he held on to the ball and made what could have been the game-winning catch.
“(My) knee shot, shoulder shot, back shot, whatever the case may be, my hands never left that ball, right? The other thing is that draw goes to offense, but I really feel in my heart that I caught that ball, and you know, it doesn’t matter now what I think or what I know,” Cooks said.
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Denver Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian (29) reacts after intercepting a pass intended for Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks (18) during overtime of an NFL divisional round football game in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
After the crushing playoff loss, Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott. Bills owner Terry Pegula told reporters Wednesday that his decision to fire McDermott was based on the results of the team’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos on Sunday.
Cooks signed with the Bills in late November to help bolster their wide receiving corps. In five regular season games with the Bills, he caught five passes for 114 yards. In two playoff games, Cooks caught five passes for 78 yards.
