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Tre'Davious White slams helmet down in front of referee, called for costly penalty vs. Broncos

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz01/18/26NickSchultz_7

As the Denver Broncos lined up for a potential game-winning field goal in overtime, Tre’Davious White made it even shorter. The Buffalo Bills defender was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after slamming his helmet down in front of a referee.

White was unhappy after two pass interference calls went against the Bills, putting the Broncos squarely in field goal range. His frustrations boiled over as he not only took his helmet off on the field – which is a penalty – and slammed it down, as well.

That penalty put Wil Lutz in range for a 23-yard field goal. He nailed it, sending Denver to the AFC Championship and its first playoff win since 2015.

It was quite a game at Mile High Stadium on Saturday between the Bills and Broncos. Denver took a 20-10 lead into halftime – thanks in large part to a Josh Allen fumble with just a few seconds left, which set up a Lutz field goal to go up 10 points. But Buffalo made a charge in the fourth quarter as neither team showed signs of quitting.

Allen hit Dalton Kincaid for a 14-yard touchdown to start the fourth quarter to put the Bills ahead 24-23, and Matt Prater hit a 31-yard field goal with 4:11 to play to make it 27-23. However, Denver punched back when Marvin Mims caught a beautifully placed pass from Bo Nix for a 26-yard touchdown to go back up 30-27.

But there was plenty of time for Allen to lead a drive, and he did just that. Prater hit the 50-yard field goal with just five seconds left to force overtime. While the Broncos had to punt on the opening possession, they later got it back when Ja’Quan McMillian made a wild interception to force another turnover from Allen.

However, there were questions about whether Brandin Cooks had possession. According to CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore, the Bills didn’t have much of a case to challenge the call. He argued it was clearly an interception.

“This is really close,” Steratore said on the broadcast. “I’m not sure that Cooks has possession coming to the ground there to say that it would be simultaneous. It feels to me like Cooks doesn’t have firm possession of the football, and they’re down by contact.”

From there, two pass interference calls helped set up the game-winning field goal, and Tre’Davious White’s penalty made it a 23-yard try. Lutz made it, propelling the Broncos to the AFC title game.