The Denver Broncos beat the Buffalo Bills 33-30 in Saturday's AFC Divisional Round matchup, but fans didn't like both an interception and a pass interference call in overtime. The Bills got the short end of the stick in both moments, but Cincinnati Bengals superstar quarterback Joe Burrow took the officials' side on social media.

"The amount of ppl that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me," he wrote. "And it’s not the officials. The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right."

The first call that was criticized came on a Josh Allen interception with 7:55 left in the period. The 2024 NFL MVP fired a deep pass to Brandin Cooks on third and 11 on his own 36-yard line, and it initially looked like the veteran receiver was down by contact with the ball before Denver cornerback Ja'Quan McMillan snatched it out of his arms. However, the play was ruled an interception and stood after a review by replay officials in New York, as Cooks didn't survive the ground or make a football move before McMillan grabbed the pigskin. 

Then, the Bills were called for two pass interferences on the ensuing drive, which ended in a game-winning field goal for the Broncos. The first foul was on Buffalo cornerback Taron Johnson, who was called for a 17-yard pass interference on wideout Courland Sutton. Two plays later, Denver quarterback Bo Nix tossed a deep ball to Marvin Mims, who drew a 30-yard pass interference on Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White.

While Johnson made minimal contact with Sutton before the pass got there, Buffalo pass-rusher Joey Bosa was called for a roughing the passer penalty anyway. The Broncos declined the latter penalty, but would've accepted it and gotten a first down if Johnson hadn't been penalized.

White's foul was more consequential, as it put Denver on Buffalo's eight-yard line, clinching a chip-shot field goal attempt to win it. Additionally, there was no other penalty on the play.

However, replays showed that White did make contact with Mims before the pass got there, which justified the call.

Although it's gut-wrenching for a team's season to end with controversial calls as a part of the story, Buffalo had plenty of chances to take the game out of the referees' hands. Instead, it turned the ball over five times.

Allen threw an interception and lost two fumbles in addition to running back James Cook losing a fumble in regulation, all of which were obvious calls. Conversely, Denver had just one turnover, which was a Nix interception in the third quarter. The Bills were down 23-17 at the time and could've taken the lead with a touchdown, but Allen threw a pick two plays later.

Regardless of debatable officiating, no team can expect to win when it loses the turnover battle by four. Even just one or two fewer gaffes could've been enough for the Bills to win, but they didn't take care of the ball. 

Allen will try to lead Buffalo to the promised land with a new head coach moving forward, as the team fired Sean McDermott on Monday.