Bills' James Cook Talks Criticism of Officials in Chiefs Game: 'F--k That Ref S--t'

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook isn't willing to blame to officials for his team's AFC Championship Game loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

"At the end of the day, as a man, you've got to come in there ready to go. F--k that ref s--t," Cook said Thursday on the Kickin' It with Dee podcast (21:30 mark of the video below.) "You got to come in that b---h ready to go, ready to play.

"Don't give a ref nothing to call. That's my answer, bro."

After a controversial ruling left the Bills short of a fourth down in the fourth quarter of a one-point game, the Chiefs pulled ahead late Sunday night to secure their third straight trip to the Super Bowl.

The call came on an attempted sneak by Bills quarterback Josh Allen. At the time, the Bills led the Chiefs 22-21.

Officials reviewed the call but didn't find enough evidence to overturn the ruling on the field.

Had the Bills kept possession, they could have gotten within field goal range and padded their lead. Instead, Buffalo turned the ball over on downs, and the defense was unable to keep Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes out of the end zone on the next drive.

Both Bills head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane pushed back against the ruling after their team was eliminated from the playoffs.

"The look we had in the stadium … I thought he had it," McDermott said Sunday, per NFL.com's Eric Edholm. "Just short of the line was actually the first down, what it looked like to me, when it was sitting next to me with the marker. Just inside that white stripe was the first down. It looked like he got to it. That's all I can say."

Beane told reporters on Thursday his belief Allen had gotten past the marker hadn't changed in the days since the loss.

"It's frustrating. There's only so much I can say. We've worked with the league to try to get clarity, and I'll give them credit. They've taken our calls, they've sent videos, and things like that," Beane said Thursday.

Beane continued: "I feel like he got that. I still feel like he got that. I felt like that in the moment, and nothing has changed my mind on that."

Beane also described a failed Bills challenge in the first half, after which officials ruled Xavier Worthy caught a pass contested by multiple Buffalo defenders to bring the Chiefs to first-and-goal, as a "good challenge."

"They've given how they see it, and that's their job... those are just like plays we didn't make in the game, too. So by no means are we saying that's why we lost the game," Beane concluded.

It sounds like Cook sees the loss the same way. He joined Allen as one of the Bills' best offensive performers in the loss, leading the team's rush attack by recording 13 carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

Beane could now look to address his team's pass defense, which struggled to contain Mahomes, by improving Buffalo's secondary this offseason as Allen, Cook and the Bills build up for what they hope will be a deeper playoff run next winter.