One of the most epic plays of the entire NFL season to this point is Ja'Quan McMillian's interception on a Josh Allen pass intended for Brandin Cooks in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. The play has been controversial, to say the least, because many in Bills Mafia believe that Cooks actually completed the process of a catch, and should have been ruled down by contact.
The problem is, Cooks never completed the process of a catch, and the play was correctly ruled an interception on the field. Gene Steratore, a former NFL referee and the current CBS Sports NFL rules analyst, broke down the interception in detail and confirmed that it was, in fact, an interception. Heck, even Joe Burrow broke his nearly two-year Twitter hiatus to express his frustration about the confusion regarding this play.
But Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks, whose reaction to the play simply did not indicate that he believed he caught it in the moment, is still living in denial that he actually completed the catch.
Brandin Cooks can't admit that he didn't catch the ball in Broncos playoff win vs. Bills
“At the end of the day, it was a catch. Not just what it looked like but what it felt like.”#Bills WR Brandin Cooks with us on @gmfb to give his perspective on the pivotal INT that knocked Buffalo out of the playoffs and Sean McDermott out of a job. pic.twitter.com/2TuYo96601
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 22, 2026
Cooks is adamant that he completed the process of a catch, and that there is evidence of it, but he's wrong. And you can't blame him for taking this stance, either. He feels like his season should still be going, and competitors will always compete.
But living in denial is a dangerous thing to do.
This was the definition of a "bang-bang" play when it comes to so many different things happening in a split second. If you slow down every frame to a fraction of a second, you can obviously put out a screenshot and make a claim that Cooks caught the ball here. But the process of a catch doesn't happen in a fraction of a second.
When you watch the play back, you can clearly see that Cooks loses control of the ball as he is hitting the ground, and Ja'Quan McMillian has the presence of mind in the moment to strip the ball out of his hands. While he's still not in control of the ball, McMillian fights for it and gains control of it.
The only player in this play who completed the process of a catch was McMillian, and that's just the reality of the situation. It's been confirmed multiple times over.
At some point, maybe Cooks will return to reality, but that isn't likely going to happen anytime soon, especially with the loss being so fresh.