The Buffalo Bills fell short of another Super Bowl run on Saturday night against the Denver Broncos, 33-30.

While the score went back and forth for a majority of the game, the headlines from the matchup have mainly focused on the Bills’ play in overtime, which included two defensive pass interference calls. Both penalties put the Broncos in prime field position to kick an easy chip shot and walk away with the victory.

When asked about the last drive of the contest, McDermott gave some insight into the play calls and what may have led to the two defensive pass interference calls to reporters on Saturday night.

“That last exchange in [overtime], they got in a spot where they have a good field goal kicker that can hit from 58, 60+, so we just tried to knock them back if we could,” McDermott stated. “So, we ended up playing man, or zero [coverage] a bit. That’s what let some of the DPIs up.”

After the defense managed to stop the Broncos on the first drive of overtime, quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense had a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, the drive was cut short when Allen targeted wide receiver Brandin Cooks deep, as the veteran was stripped of the ball when falling to the ground by cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian.

The Broncos’ offense then took over with the ball on their own 20-yard line, which gave quarterback Bo Nix a perfect opportunity to seal the deal. Nix found wideout Courtland Sutton for a huge 24-yard gain to spark life in Denver.

With the offense in striking distance of a game-winning field goal, the Bills' defense adjusted to man coverage to apply extra pressure on Nix. This led to Buffalo’s first defensive pass interference call on Taron Johnson, as the young quarterback tried to find Sutton upfield.

Luckily for McDermott, his defense managed to stop Nix’s scramble on the next play for a two-yard loss.

But the successful stuff would ultimately not matter in the end, as star cornerback Tre’Davious White was called for defensive pass interference on the ensuing play while covering wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. The call would then put the Broncos in a perfect spot to kick a field goal from the Bills’ 10-yard line, icing the franchise’s chances of a Super Bowl this season.

While the decision to switch to man coverage may have been puzzling to many, it made sense for McDermott and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich to make the change due to the circumstances of the game.

The Bills’ defense did not record a sack on Nix throughout the entire contest, and with how well the secondary has played down the stretch, applying more pressure was the best-case scenario to force Denver out of field goal range.