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Late in the third quarter of Sunday’s playoff game against the Denver Broncos, the Buffalo Bills faced 4th-and-1 at the 24-yard line while leading 13-7.
After buying time, Broncos quarterback Josh Allen threw a pass to the back of the end zone and it was caught by running back Ty Johnson for a touchdown. The Bills then added a two-point conversion to make it 21-7.
After review, the call on the field of a touchdown was upheld. Notably, the official said the catch “stands,” but it was not “confirmed.”
“When they reviewed it, I thought it was out, but it was a great play, a great catch,” cornerback Pat Surtain said after the game. “Not much could be said on that.”
This is the catch in question:
An absolutely ridiculous catch by Ty Johnson. He immediately secured the catch and had one knee down in-bounds just prior to his foot tapping out of bounds.
#DENvsBUF pic.twitter.com/s758R2n4Ai
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) January 12, 2025
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“I saw what you saw,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said after an eventual 31-7 loss. “It went to New York… I saw the same feed on the big screen. It’s hard to tell.”
Former official and current CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore wrote on Twitter/X that Johnson “immediately secured the catch and had one knee down in-bounds just prior to his foot tapping out of bounds.”
Many fans disagreed.
“He didn’t immediately secure the catch,” one fan wrote.
Added another: “Ball was not immediately secured he was bobbling it.”
“The ball was still moving when his foot tapped out of bounds, glad you’re no longer calling games. 
” another fan added.
Another chimed in: “There’s no universe where you can convince me that ball is secured before that ankle touches out of bounds.”
Another fan asked: “Isn’t the ball still moving as he slides out of bounds?”
“ Touchdown “ pic.twitter.com/Yg37xgu8hz
— cb (@lamar8_mvp) January 12, 2025
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His foot clearly touches down out of bounds. No dog in this fight, but I love how the definition of a catch changes per game. pic.twitter.com/nhMheu5Xbp
— Loveless (@LovelessEnt) January 12, 2025
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The catch was a momentum-swinging play. Had the touchdown not been upheld, the Broncos would have taken over at their own 24-yard line trailing by just six points with 18:06 remaining in the game.
Payton was asked after the game if he thought it was a deflating moment for the team.
“I don’t think it deflated our guys,” Payton said. “It was a big play — it was fourth down I believe. No, I think you’re battling. It was still fairly early. It wasn’t — it took a minute. I don’t know that there was a great angle. It was hard for me to see a great angle. I don’t know what the TV copy looked like.
“Look — we got beat today. It’s always — especially in the post season — that’s always a bitter pill to swallow. Yet it’ll go down and then it’s got to fuel you and light a fire in the direction we need to go. One of the things we learned early on is we have to find a way to play these games at home. That’s another thing that’s important.”
Payton seemed to imply that one play didn’t decide the game, which is obviously true. But fans in Denver will still wonder how different Sunday might have gone if Johnson had been ruled out of bounds.