Heading into the wild-card matchup between the Bills and Broncos, one of the key storylines of the game was how the Denver defense would handle Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense.
Denver's defensive unit is led by cornerback and DPOY frontrunner, Patrick Surtain. Alongside a ferocious pass rush, Surtain led the Broncos to the No. 7 overall defense and the No. 3 scoring defense in the regular season.
Throughout the season, Surtain was known for his ability to blanket opposing No. 1 receivers and completely erase them from the game. In this wild-card game, he'll be remembered for getting away with an egregious holding penalty on Bills' tight end Dalton Kincaid.
After the missed call, head referee Bill Vinovich had a talk with Allen.
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Josh Allen, Bill Vinovich conversation video
When it comes to holding penalties, Surtain's hold seemed to be pretty obvious. But the official posted in the back of the endzone seemed to miss what was going on between Surtain and Kincaid.
The Bills ultimately settled for a field goal on the drive instead of receiving an automatic first down on the holding penalty. Following the field goal, referee Bill Vinovich made his way over to Allen on the bench.
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While it's difficult to make out exactly what Vinovich had to say, he presumably explained to Allen what occurred on the missed call. With a pat on the helmet, Allen appears to come to an understanding with Vinovich.
After the game, Allen provided some explanation on the interaction. Allen said that he was rather upset after the play and Vinovich simply came over to calm him down.
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Allen-Vinovich video reactions
As is often the case in the NFL, key moments in each game draw mixed reactions. The missed call and conversation between Allen and Vinovich were no different.
On one side, some believe that Vinovich is catering to one of the league's stars and giving him preferential treatment. Fox's Skip Bayless believes Vinovich heading over to the Buffalo bench made a bad situation even worse.
Others believe that it was a professional move for Vinovich to give Allen an explanation as to what happened on the play.
While some carry the belief that this is a good look for Vinovich and the officiating crew, the overwhelming majority of fans are taken aback by the fact that a referee would apologize to a player for missing a call.
For what may be the first time in NFL history, fans may be more worked up about what a referee did after a missed call as opposed to the missed call itself.