Another January, another gut-wrenching exit for the Buffalo Bills, but this one came with a controversial twist that has the organization fuming. 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 clarified his stance.

“Obviously, I don’t have the power to challenge,” McDermott said in the post-game presser. “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.”

“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.

The play in question was as bizarre as it was pivotal. Allen launched a deep ball that Cooks appeared to secure as he fell to the turf. For a split second, Buffalo got into field goal 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.

The ruling was a gut punch for the Bills. What looked like a game-winning field goal setup became a season-ending interception, sealing a 33-30 loss and leaving Josh Allen fighting back tears in the post-game 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.

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 8-7, but without a Super Bowl appearance, let alone a win. Allen now joins Philip Rivers on the list of quarterbacks with the most playoff wins without reaching a Super Bowl.

He wasn’t healthy on 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.

He ended the night with two interceptions, two lost fumbles, and four turnovers, all at the worst possible times. One of them, a careless fumble just before halftime, handed the Denver Broncos three easy points. Over his playoff career, Allen has thrown 29 passing touchdowns against six interceptions.

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.