At defensive end for the Buffalo Bills Joey Bosa didn’t hide his emotions after the team’s heartbreaking overtime loss in the NFL playoffs.
While walking back to the locker room after a 33-30 loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday, Jan. 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 halt.
Reporter James Palmerfrom The Athleticpublished in video of the moment via social media after the match.
After falling behind 20-10 at halftime, the Bills came out swinging in the second half (and in particular the fourth quarter), eventually forcing overtime after a 50-yard field goal by Matt Prater with five seconds left in regulation tied the game.
Josh Allen struggled to maintain his composure as he reacted to the Buffalo Bills’ 33-30 NFL playoff loss to the Denver Broncos on Saturday, Jan. 17. “It’s extremely difficult,” Allen, 29, admitted with tears in his eyes during a postgame news conference. “I feel like I let my teammates down tonight.” Allen struggled remarkably on Saturday (…)
On their first play of the extra period, the Bills had what looked like a long completion down the field to put the team in good position to win the game, but the catch was contested between the wide receiver and the Broncos’ linebacker. Ultimately, the play was an interception by the Broncos, changing 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 pass rush after hitting Broncos quarterback Good Nix on that final drive, pushing Denver closer to a 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).
Joey Bosa
Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesBills head coach Sean McDermott discussed the controversial interception call that changed the course of the team’s season, saying he could not “understand” the ruling.
“It’s hard for me to understand why it was run the way it was run,” McDermott told the media after the game. “If it’s ruled that way, then why wasn’t it slowed down just to make sure we got that right? That would have made a lot of sense to me. … Because it’s a pivotal play in the game. (We’d have) the ball at the 20 and maybe we’d be kicking a game-winning field goal right there.”
He continued, “But I’m saying that because I’m standing up for Buffalo, dammit. I’m standing up for us. Because what happened is not how it should go down, in my estimation. These guys spend three hours out there playing football, spilling their guts. Not even saying, ‘Hey, let’s slow this 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 touched the ground.
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix suffered a shocking season-ending ankle injury moments before his team defeated the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday, January 17. “It is programmed (…)
“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 it hit the ground. The defender took possession of it at that time. The defender is the one who has completed the process of the catch, so the defender received the ball.”
After the emotional loss, the Bills quarterback Josh Allen I 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 stay with me for a long time.”