Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills have been knocked out of the playoffs once again. One moment that defined yet another Buffalo heartbreak was when wide receiver Brandin Cooks almost reached field-goal range after catching a dart from Allen, which was ultimately ruled out in overtime. Head coach Sean McDermott cleared his stance on the controversial call.

“Obviously, I don’t have the power to challenge. We’re in overtime, so the flag is not an option to throw it down, so I called a timeout to try and get the process to slow down because it seemed like the process was not slowing down. It seemed like a rapid unfolding of the review, if there was a review,” McDermott said in the post-game presser.

“It would make sense that the head official would walk over and take a look at it, just to make sure…as it’s too big a play…a play that decided the game potentially, to not even slow it down,” the head coach added.

He pointed out that it was hard for him to understand why the catch was ruled as a pick. He added that if it were to be ruled as an INT, the reviewing process should have slowed down to get a clearer picture.

It surely was a little bizarre. Allen launched a deep ball that Cooks appeared to secure as he fell to the turf. For a split second, Buffalo was thinking they’ve reached close enough to FG range. But as Cooks hit the ground, the ball shifted just enough for Ja’Quan McMillian of the Denver Broncos to rip it away and turn it into an interception.

Officials ruled that Cooks never fully completed the catch, going to the ground. Enough of the ball ended up in McMillian’s grasp by the time Cooks landed that the call stood after a quick look, with no reversal.

Regardless, it is surely heartbreaking for the Bills fans. It could’ve been three points and a win if it hadn’t ruled an interception. Instead, it ended with a 33-30 loss. It was even more heartbreaking for Josh Allen, who was fighting tears in the press conference.

Josh Allen’s playoff curse continues

“I feel like I let my teammates down tonight,” Josh Allen said, fighting back tears, as he tried to put words to another playoff setback.

You could tell the last thing on his mind was the play involving Brandin Cooks. When he was asked if he had any explanation for it, Allen barely engaged. Just a quiet, flat “no.” He was already somewhere else mentally, weighed down by the loss itself.

This really did feel like the year. The usual roadblocks were gone. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs were out of the picture. Lamar Jackson wasn’t there. Joe Burrow was done. For once, the AFC didn’t feel like a maze. And after all the near-misses, it almost felt like Buffalo’s turn and Josh Allen’s destiny.

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Allen has led the Bills to five straight AFC East titles and seven playoff trips, yet January keeps ending the same way. His playoff record sits at 7–6, but without a Super Bowl appearance, let alone a win. Allen now shares an uncomfortable line in history with Philip Rivers: the most playoff wins by a quarterback without ever reaching a Super Bowl.

He wasn’t healthy Saturday, and still gave them everything he had. Allen finished 25-of-39 for 283 yards and three touchdowns, adding 66 yards on 12 carries. But of course, he gave the ball away more than once.

He ended the night with two interceptions, two lost fumbles, and four turnovers, all at the worst possible times. One of them, a careless ball lost just before halftime, handed the Denver Broncos three easy points. Over his playoff career, Allen has thrown 29 touchdowns against six interceptions, but he has also fumbled 14 times in 15 postseason games.

Call it bad luck. Call it the burden of carrying too much. Whatever it is, it won’t let go.

“I can see the parade, I can feel it,” Allen said before the start of the season. “Five degrees, brisk, rolling down, hearing the bus roll over all the salt and the ice. Thousands upon thousands of fans filling up downtown Buffalo. I can see where we’re going up on the steps at city hall. I see it all. Gotta make it turn into reality.”

That dream would have to wait.