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Joe Burrow breaks social media silence, blasts fans for not understanding NFL catch rules

Meby: Nick Geddes01/20/26NickGeddesNews

Before Monday, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had not posted on X since April 26, 2024. Burrow felt compelled to tweet after taking in the action during NFL Divisional Round weekend.

This weekend’s games saw a couple of controversial calls on contested catches. One came Saturday in the AFC tilt between the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills, and the other happened Sunday in the NFC contest between the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears.

The league’s officiating has come under scrutiny; Burrow thinks the frustration is being aired out on the wrong people. Burrow believes that too many fans simply don’t understand what a catch is in the NFL Rulebook.

“The amount of ppl that don’t understand what a catch is in the rule book flabbergasts me. And it’s not the officials,” Burrow wrote. “The two plays yesterday were not difficult calls, and they got them both right.”

NFL officiating took centerstage during Divisional weekend

During overtime of Denver’s win over Buffalo, Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw an interception. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks and cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian both went up for the ball, which appeared to land in Cooks’ hands before ending up in the possession of McMillian as they rolled to the ground. The play was ruled an interception and league replay officials in New York confirmed it, finding that the ball never hit the ground when Cooks lost control.

CBS rules analyst and former NFL referee Gene Steratore agreed with the call. Former NFL official and current rules analyst Walt Anderson said it was the correct call, though Bills head coach Sean McDermott, fired Monday, disagreed.

A similar play happened in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. This time, however, the officials ruled it a catch for Rams wideout Davante Adams. NBC rules analyst and former NFL referee Terry McAulay said that Adams “clearly completed the catch.”

Burrow felt both were the correct calls. Clearly, league officials thought the same as well.