Controversy erupts at end of Giants-Bills game as fans debate no-call on Darren Waller catch attempt
The New York Giants had a legitimate chance to stun the Buffalo Bills on the last play of the game Sunday night.
On 3rd-and-4 from the Bills’ 9-yard line with 2 seconds left, Tyrod Taylor’s pass to Darren Waller was incomplete, but Buffalo was flagged for defensive pass interference. It gave the Giants an untimed down and an even better shot at winning the game.
Taylor dropped back to pass and threw a high ball to the 6-foot-6-inch tight end Waller, but it was just over his head. The Bills won the game 14-9 as they scored all of their points in the fourth quarter.
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Buffalo Bills cornerback Taron Johnson, #7, breaks up a pass to New York Giants tight end Darren Waller, #12, on the final play of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, New York, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
New York Giants tight end Darren Waller, #12, attempts to catch a pass for a touchdown against Buffalo Bills cornerback Taron Johnson, #7, during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, Oct. 15, 2023. (Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports)
NFL fans watching the game cried foul. Waller was fighting with cornerback Taron Johnson for position to grab the ball as it went over his head. The officials may have been able to get away with calling a penalty there, but fans were unhappy with the laundry staying in their back pocket.
“I know they’re probably not calling it twice but that was an obvious DPI against Darren Waller on that final play right?” Big Blue Banter’s Dan Schneider wrote on X. “If he doesn’t grab the entire jersey and arm, Waller is making that catch. He got a free release. He’s 6-5. Has like a 5 inch advantage.”
“That was a clear hold by the Bills but that end of the half mistake by the Giants cost ‘em,” NFL veteran Damien Woody wrote.
NBC broadcaster Cris Collinsworth was on the side of the holding penalty, saying that Johnson’s grab kept going as Waller tried to put his hands up.
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Waller took the no-call in stride.
“There was contact, but I’m not somebody that’s going to get into what a call should have been or telling officials how to do their job because there’s a way for me to make that play there and it wasn’t made, so that’s what I focus on,” he told reporters, via The Athletic.
Giants coach Brian Daboll lamented the team’s play in the loss.
“It came down to 1 yard and just missed it,” Daboll said. “We got it down there four times, and we didn’t put it in. That’s really the difference in the game, not being able to punch it in the end zone.”
Josh Allen said the Bills were a much better team than how they played.
Darren Waller, #12 of the New York Giants, is tackled by Terrel Bernard, #43 of the Buffalo Bills, in the fourth quarter of a game at Highmark Stadium on Oct. 15, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
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“We’re a much better team than we showed tonight, and showed last week,” he said of last week’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. “We got to figure out why that is, and how to get ourselves out of a funk early on.”
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