ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Whenever the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs meet, the conversation surrounding the game centers on Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. But on Sunday, several unsung heroes for the Bills made huge plays, helping lift them to their sixth win of the season.
We’ll start with rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston, who, after the game, was all smiles as he recalled his first career interception against Mahomes. With four minutes on the clock, Mahomes threw a deep ball intended for Xavier Worthy. Hairston was there to bring it down, giving the ball back to the offense and chewing up three and a half crucial minutes.
“It's a zone where we kinda make it look like man and then kind of fall back and really just trusting what I saw from their two-minute drive in the first half, knowing that they would come back to it at the end of the game,” Hairston said. “Just trusting what I see being at the right spot doing my 1/11th, and the ball found me.”
Not to be outdone, second-year safety Cole Bishop was all over the place on Sunday against the Chiefs. In just his 12th NFL start, Bishop had far and away the most impactful game of his career with seven combined tackles and four passes defended.
“I felt Cole out there,” head coach Sean McDermott said. “I mean, you could see him making big plays, you could sense his speed, and then he was popping some people out there, and that's again a journey of a young player who is,uh,taking steps in the right direction.”
“I mean, I've been diligent and trying to stick to my process and everything and the preparation,” Bishop said. “So being able to go out and make a couple of plays was exciting.”
Bishop’s college teammate Dalton Kincaid also had one of the best games of his young NFL career, leading the Bills with 101 yards on six receptions and a touchdown. Kincaid’s biggest play came on a crossing route where he and Allen connected for a massive 47-yard gain that set up an important touchdown before the end of the first half. Kincaid more than doubled Khalil Shakir, who was the Bills' second leading receiver with 43 yards.
"He's an absolute stud," Allen said. "It continues to get better and better, and I feel like each week he's getting better and he's getting healthier, which is awesome. So it kind of shows you the type of player thathe is and can be. He's going to continue to progress and you know my relationship and my trust in him is only going to continue to grow."