ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Ja'Quan McMillian knows his Christmas will be filled with references to the biggest play of his career: the overtime interception of Josh Allen's heave to Brandin Cooks that set up the Denver Broncos' 33-30 victory in the AFC playoffs last January.
The teams play again in Denver on Dec. 25, but really, his whole offseason was filled with reminders of his much-debated pick at the Broncos' 20-yard line that ultimately ended Buffalo's
season and Sean McDermott's time as the Bills' head coach.
“It was different” being so recognized by Broncos fans this offseason, McMillian said. “I'd be in random spots out here and people would come up to me and ask me about the pick, the interception. But it's a great feeling, you know?”
He also couldn't get away from the bitterness from Bills fans.
“Yeah, I can be randomly scrolling on social media and I'll see it and I'll click on it and go through the comments and see people all ‘It was a catch!’ or ‘It was an interception!'" McMillian said. "But it's all good. It's all competitive and I love it.”
Cooks had a step on his defender and was hauling in Allen's 44-yard pass well within field goal range when McMillian caught up and wrested the ball from the wide receiver's grasp as the pair tumbled to the ground.
That led to Wil Lutz’s 23-yard field goal that ended Buffalo’s season short of the Super Bowl once again, and within 24 hours McDermott was out of a job.
He had gone down fighting, arguing after the game that it was “a catch all the way.”
Except, it wasn't.
As referee Carl Cheffers explained, "The receiver has to complete the process of a catch. He was going to the ground as part of the process of the catch and he lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground. The defender gained possession of it at that point. The defender is the one that completed the process of the catch, so the defender was awarded the ball.”
The call was immediately debated across the country with ESPN analyst and former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky arguing it was a definitely catch and Hall of Fame tight end Sterling Sharpe countering on his podcast that it was certainly an interception, explaining the receiver needs to get up “and hand the ball to the officials.”
Which Cook couldn't do because McMillian was already running away with the prize held high. Denver ball.
Undrafted out of East Carolina in 2022, McMillian has carved a niche in Denver's stingy defense, so much so that defensive end Zach Allen suggested earlier in the week that “he makes the whole thing go. The fact that he’s able to cover, blitz, the whole nine. He’s incredible. We were literally just talking about it in the locker room that we’re definitely really lucky to have him.”
Hearing that from his teammate “means a lot,” McMillian said. “It just shows all the work that I’ve put in and the love that the team has for me.”
That feeling is the same upstairs.
“He’s one of our core players,” general manager George Paton said at the NFL scouting combine in February, “and we love having him here.”
McMillian is set to play this season on the one-year, $5.76 million restricted free agent tender he signed in March, a nice bump from the $880,000 he averaged during his first four years in the league but just a taste of what he might command with a long-term contract in the near future.
McMillian said Friday that he's focused on the present, not the future. “Obviously, I would love to be here. But you know how it is in the league," he said.
Notes: WR Marvin Mims Jr. left practice early with an unspecified lower body injury and didn't return and DE Matt Henningsen was carted off the field with a lower body injury almost a year to the day after tearing an Achilles in a joint practice against the San Francisco 49ers that forced him to miss all of 2025. Coach Sean Payton had already left the field to fly out for Drew Brees' Hall of Fame induction this weekend and the team gave no update on their injuries.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
