Choosing words carefully, Brandon Beane says Josh Allen converted key fourth down

The Bills and Bills Mafia continue to wrestle with the aftermath of an AFC Championship loss that was influenced by a couple of calls to which they strenuously object.

Meeting with reporters on Thursday, G.M. Brandon Beane tiptoed through the FedEx envelope minefield regarding his thoughts on the key fourth-down call resulting in a ruling that quarterback Josh Allen came up short.

“It’s frustrating,” Beane said when asked about the close calls that went against the Bills. “There’s only so much I can say. You know, I don’t — you know, we work with the league to try to get clarity. And I’ll give them credit. They’ve taken our calls. They’ve sent video and things like that. I just, you know — I wish, you know, if you’re talking about the fourth-down play that was, you know, I’m — I feel like, you know, he got that. And I still feel like he got that. I felt that in the moment, and nothing has changed my mind on that.”

Many, if not most, agree with Beane, including Bills coach Sean McDermott, CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore, and Fox rules analyst Dean Blandino.

Nothing can change what happened. The lingering question is whether the NFL will use the situation as an impetus to improve, or whether it will simply say “shit happens” with a shrug, and move on.