Buffalo Bills defensive end Joey Bosa was not hiding his emotions after the team’s heartbreaking overtime loss in the NFL playoffs.
While walking back to the locker room after the 33-30 loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday, January 18, at Mile High Stadium, Bosa slammed his helmet against the wall in an act of pure frustration after the team’s season came to a screeching halt.
Reporter James Palmer, from The Athletic, posted a video of the moment via social media after the game.
After falling behind 20-10 at halftime, the Bills came out swinging in the second half (and in the fourth quarter particularly), eventually forcing overtime after a 50-yard field goal from Matt Prater with five seconds left in regulation tied the game.
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In their first drive of the extra period, the Bills had what looked to be a long completion down the field to put the team in a good position to win the game, but the catch was contested between the wide receiver and the Broncos defender. The play was eventually ruled an interception by the Broncos, flipping possession in favor of the home team.
Denver subsequently drove down the field and kicked a 23-yard field goal for the win.
Bosa, 30, was flagged for roughing the passer after hitting Broncos quarterback Bo Nix on that final drive, pushing Denver closer to ultimately hitting that field goal.
Nix was later ruled out for the rest of the playoffs with a broken ankle (the Broncos don’t believe the injury occurred on that play).
Bills head coach Sean McDermott discussed the controversial interception call that turned the tide on the team’s season, saying he couldn’t “understand” the ruling.
“It’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled,” McDermott told the media after the game. “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. … Because that’s a pivotal play in the game. [We’d] have the ball at the 20 and may be kicking a game-winning field goal right there.”
He continued, “But I’m saying it because I’m standing up for Buffalo, dammit. I’m standing up for us. Because what went on is not how it should go down, in my estimation. These guys spend three hours out there playing football, pouring their guts out. To not even say, ‘Hey, let’s just slow this thing down.’”
Referee Carl Cheffers clarified the decision after the game during the pool report, saying that the defender “completed the process of the catch” while the ball never hit the ground.
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“The receiver has to complete the process of a catch,” Cheffers said. “He was going to the ground as part of the process of the catch, and he lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground. The defender gained possession of it at that point. The defender is the one that completed the process of the catch, so the defender was awarded the ball.”
After the emotional loss, Bills quarterback Josh Allen was in tears during the postgame press conference, taking the fall for the loss in which he threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw two crucial interceptions, including the one in overtime, and lost two fumbles.
“It’s extremely difficult,” Allen, 29, said. “I feel like I let my teammates down tonight.”
He continued, “It’s been a long season. I hate how it ended. It’s going to stick with me for a long time.”
