Maxwell Hairston's first INT began with Joey Bosa: Bills' plays that shaped the game
"We knew he loves to step up in the B gap and get the ball downfield," Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. "We were all aware. We made him step up, then we countered back. We knew one of our guys would win and get there. We worked together all night."
Scouting the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense last week revealed a tendency the Buffalo Bills’ defensive coaches wanted their linemen to keep in mind Sunday night.
Any time Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is under duress, he typically steps forward in the pocket to throw to a receiver downfield, or he looks for a rushing lane in the middle of the field. He had not been sacked outside the pocket this season.
Buffalo Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston (31) intercepts a pass by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15)
during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News)
The preparation led to a game-changing play Sunday night in the Bills’ 28-21 win over the Chiefs. Mahomes was facing third-and-16 at the Chiefs’ 34-yard line when Kansas City called a passing play that had tight end Travis Kelce chip the edge rusher and run a route. He didn’t get far before Mahomes was taken down.
Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa ran through the chip block and around Chiefs left tackle Jaylon Moore, forcing Mahomes to step forward in the pocket. He looked for a rushing lane, but the Bills didn’t give him one. Michael Hoecht was standing in his path, forcing Mahomes to spin toward Bosa. Hoecht and Greg Rousseau combined on the sack, and the Chiefs punted.
On the ensuing drive, Josh Allen led the Bills’ offense 74 yards in eight plays to give them a 28-13 lead. The pressure created by their pass rush contributed to Mahomes completing a career-low 44.1% of his passes.
“We knew he loves to step up in the B gap and get the ball downfield,” Bosa explained to The Buffalo News. “We were all aware. We made him step up, then we countered back. We knew one of our guys would win and get there. We worked together all night.”
Here are other plays that shaped the Bills’ win:
Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston celebrates his interception of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the fourth quarter Sunday at Highmark Stadium.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Flashback to play-action
Remember all those outside zone runs the Bills offense used in their 40-9 win over the Panthers?
The Bills knew the Chiefs would be ready if offensive coordinator Joe Brady tried the same play against their defense. The coaching staff also knew Kansas City can be vulnerable against play-action passes. According to Next Gen Stats, the Chiefs entered Week 9 tied for second worst in the NFL in yards allowed per play-action pass.
On first-and-10 with 1:50 left in the second quarter, Allen faked a handoff to James Cook. Tight end Dawson Knox acted like he was going to block. Then he ran up the seam to catch a 30-yard pass behind two Chiefs defenders.
“Just a great scheme by the offensive coaching staff,” Knox said. “Joe Brady called it. It was kind of bluff the corner to make him think it’s outside zone, because we ran that a ton last week in Carolina. ... We made them think we were blocking them, then get down the seam.”
Pass rush comes alive
The Chiefs couldn’t block Bosa. He hit Mahomes five times, including a sack, and earned two tackles for a loss.One of those hits led to a memorable play by an important Bills rookie. Bosa overpowered Chiefs backup right tackle Wanya Morris and reached Mahomes as the three-time Super Bowl champion released the ball to attempt a downfield throw to Xavier Worthy.
Bills rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston, a first-round pick, caught the ball for his first career interception with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter. Buffalo took over on offense and drained nearly two minutes of the clock before Kansas City ran three unsuccessful plays to end the game.
“I got my first interception on Pat Mahones,” Hairston said proudly.
Solutions to
Man coverageThe Bills couldn’t find an answer to the Falcons’ man-to-man coverage when tight end Dalton Kincaid was out with an oblique injury in Week 6.
Allen needed a reliable target once they focused on covering Bills receiver Khalil Shakir. They didn’t have that problem with Kincaid available, though. He made two significant plays, beginning on the first drive of the game. He ran down the seam and past linebacker Drue Tranquill, who stumbled while trying to keep up, and Kincaid caught the pass for a 23-yard touchdown that gave Buffalo a 7-0 lead.
When a holding penalty against Knox put the Bills in second-and-13 in the second quarter, Brady called a play that had Kincaid run a dig route. The Chiefs kept having a linebacker cover him, a matchup Buffalo wanted to exploit, and Kincaid created 3 yards of separation when he cut to the middle of the field. He caught the ball 1 yard short of the line to gain, then ran 32 more yards.
Two plays later, Ty Johnson scored with a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Bills ahead, 14-10. Kincaid caught six passes for 101 yards, and he joined Paul Costa (1967) as the only tight ends in franchise history with two 100-yard games in the same season.
“He’s an absolute stud,” Allen said of Kincaid. “He continues to get better and better, and I feel like each week he’s getting better. ... So it kind of shows you the type of player that he is and can be. He’s going to continue to progress, and my relationship and my trust in him is only going to continue to grow.”
Desperation on fourth-and-17
Bosa seemed to second-guess himself once he ran past another chip block with the Chiefs facing fourth-and-17 at the Bills’ 40-yard line.He backpedaled in case Kelce ran a shallow route to try to turn a short catch for a long gain. Once Bosa realized Kelce was gone, he tried to rush Mahomes again. He stood in the pocket and threw downfield to Rashee Rice, who caught the pass for a 29-yard gain. Four plays later, Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt scored on a 2-yard run to cut Buffalo’s lead to 28-21.
“Rashee did a great job getting open in that last window,” Mahomes said. “Great play, but we obviously didn’t capitalize on the momentum of that play.”
