Sitting in a suite at Saturday’s playoff game, former Broncos stars Rod Smith and Steve Atwater were both euphoric when cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian made the play of the day with a dramatic and controversial interception.

But after watching the replay, they had differing views about the call on the field.

“Steve was the only one who thought it was a catch,:” Smith said with a laugh about a group that included former Broncos players and family members.

In Denver’s 33-30 overtime win over Buffalo in a divisional playoff game at Empower Field at Mile High, the score was tied 30-30 when the Bills faced third-and-11 at their 36 with 7:55 left in the extra period. Josh Allen launched a long pass to Brandin Cooks, who initially looked to have made the catch.

But as the players hit the ground, McMillian pulled the ball away from Cooks for the interception, giving the Broncos possession at their 20-yard line. They then drove for Wil Lutz’s winning 23-yard field goal with 4:44 left in overtime, earning a berth in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday against New England at home.

“When I saw it live, I thought it was a catch but then after seeing the replay, I was like, ‘Oh, no, that’s not a catch,” said Smith, a Broncos receiver from 1995-2006.

When the call on the field of an interception stood, Smith, Atwater and others in the suite cheered plenty. Atwater, though, later admitted that he still thought it was a reception by Cooks after the replay.

“To be honest with you, it looked like it was a catch, but I’m always for the defense,’’ said Atwater, a Hall of Fame safety who played for the Broncos from 1989-98 and is now their fan engagement manager. “And it was a great interception. … I’m glad it wasn’t (a catch). … I’m super happy about it, but then I saw some other angles and I thought it was a catch. But I’m happy. I’m 100 percent happy.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott said in a press conference after the game that “it’s hard for me to understand why it was ruled the way it was ruled.” In speaking to The Buffalo News later, he was even more adamant about his belief.

“That play is not even close,’’ he told the paper. “That’s a catch all the way. I sat in my locker and I looked at it probably 20 times, and nobody can convince me that that ball is not caught and in possession of Buffalo.”

Referee Carl Cheffers was asked by a pool reporter after the game about the play.

“The receiver has to complete the process of a catch,’’ Cheffers said. “He was going to the ground as part of the process of the catch, and he lost possession of the ball when he hit the ground. The defender gained possession of it at that point.”

Coaches are not allowed to make challenges during overtime, with all replay reviews done at the stadium and at a center in New York. Speaking to the media after the game, McDermott expressed his displeasure with how quickly the call on the field was ruled to have stood.

“From the visual for the NFL, it would have been better if they had taken the time to allow the referee to go to a monitor and then make a decision in overtime,’’ former star quarterback and longtime NFL analyst Joe Theismann told The Denver Gazette. “It was in a critical part of the game, and the review went too quick.”

Theismann said it was important for the Broncos that the play was called on the field as an interception and he doesn’t believe there was enough evidence to overturn it on replay.

Smith was convinced the call was correct.

“It was not a catch,’’ Smith said. “If I thought it was a catch, I would say it was a catch. You have to maintain possession of the football and the end of the play and (Cooks) did not maintain possession of the football. A good simple way of looking at it is who handed the ball to the ref. It was (McMillian).”

Smith, though, did laugh about it taking a while for the ball to actually be returned to the official due to McMillian celebrating in the end zone.

“He’s one of my favorite Denver Broncos,’’ Smith said. “I just love the way he plays. I think he’s probably the best slot corner in the game. … He needs to get paid. He needs to stay in Denver.”

McMillian, making a minimum salary of $1.03 million in his fourth Denver season, is in line to become a restricted free agent in March. The NFL salary-cap website OverTheCap.com projects that restricted free-agent one-year tenders in 2026 will be $7.893 million for a team to get a first-round pick if the player departs, $5.658 million for a second-round pick as possible compensation and $3.453 million for simply having right of first refusal.

McMillian could get a lucrative offer sheet from a team that the Broncos will need to decide whether or not to match.

“That was probably a play you won’t see in your life again,” Broncos safety P.J. Locke said of McMillian’s interception. “It was (a) once-in-a-lifetime play right there, and it came from my boy J-Mac. … He’s worked his butt off and I think he’s got a big payday coming up, and he’s proven why.”

Atwater also lauded the play of McMillian.

“Ja’Quan has been making plays all year,’’ Atwater said. “Ever since he’s been here, he’s been making plays. It doesn’t surprise me that he made the play.”

Even though Atwater believed it was a catch rather than an interception, he sure was happy with how the call went for the Broncos.