Josh Allen Explains Why Referee Spoke to Him on Sideline During Bills-Broncos

The odd moment occurred in the first half of Buffalo's wild-card win over Denver.

Josh Allen / Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Buffalo Bills didn't really break a sweat en route to a 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs.

Josh Allen was his usual excellent self, completing 76.9% of his passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 46 yards. It wasn't a boring affair, but it wasn't exactly attention-grabbing, either; the real fireworks await next week, when the Bills host the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.

However, there was one moment in the second half that caused a buzz among viewers. Early in the second half Allen was hopping mad that the refs missed a holding call in the end zone that forced Buffalo to settle for a field goal on the goal line.

Head referee Bill Vinovich came over to Allen while he was sitting on the bench afterwards and spoke to him. Many believed Vinovich was explaining to Allen why a penalty wasn't called, which is a very odd occurrence. Referees do not wander over to the bench to chat to players very often, especially not star quarterbacks while they sit on the bench.

Bill Vinovich and Josh Allen having a chat pic.twitter.com/2LFbSXo6ua

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 12, 2025

Allen was asked about this after the Bills finished off their win. The superstar QB explained that he got too worked up about the lack of a flag and Vinovich was on the sideline telling him to cool off.

Josh Allen on this scene said he was yelling a lot that a penalty should’ve been called & ref came over to tell him to calm it down. https://t.co/AO5LUNk0QL

— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) January 12, 2025

It's still a bit of a weird scene even with the context. But the explanation should fend off any further accusations of the referee giving Allen a courtesy officials never extend to other players.

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