Bills owner says his team lost to Broncos because of ‘a bad call’

Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula and GM / president Brandon Beane held a bit of a wild press conference on Wednesday.

It made a ton of headlines, including that Pegula decided to fire head coach Sean McDermott because of the loss to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round. Specifically, the way the locker room felt at Empower Field at Mile High after the Broncos pulled out a 33-30 OT thriller.

“If I can take you into that locker room, I felt like we hit the proverbial playoff wall year after year — 13 seconds, missed field goal, the catch. So, I just sensed in that locker room, like, where do we go from here with what we have? And that was the basis for my decision,” Pegula told reporters.

But perhaps the most interesting moment might be when the owner lashed out, interrupting an answer from Beane about why the Bills lost.

Holy cow… #Bills GM Brandon Beane was being asked about the team falling short…

Owner Terry Pegula jumps in "A BAD CALL." https://t.co/02FUJWJmaz pic.twitter.com/zoT1Fy0h2i

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 21, 2026

Pegula is referring to the interception by Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian in overtime. With the game tied 30-30 and Buffalo needing a field goal for the win, McMillian took the football away from Bills wide receiver Brandin Cooks.

The Buffalo players complained about the call being an interception and not a completion to Cooks, something their owner is now echoing.

Around the NFL, the consensus seems to be the officials got it right. Cooks never had full control of the ball and McMillian made an unbelievable play. Ultimately, it saved Denver’s season and helped send them to the AFC Title Game.

It looks like sour grapes in Buffalo, a level that has now reached ownership. You can’t imagine the league or fellow owners are real pleased with Pegula, as publicly blasting the referees is frowned upon.

Regardless, the Broncos are through to the next round and the Bills have another winter and spring of sadness and questions to deal with.

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