There’s no way to sugarcoat it; the Buffalo Bills’ Week 4 loss against the New England Patriots is going to sting for a bit. It’s one thing to lose, but to lose to a division rival that was averaging just 12 points per game coming into this game is ridiculous.
New England’s offense had looked pathetic through the first three weeks, but they absolutely ripped apart Buffalo’s defense. One of the Buffalo defenders that played a big role in this letdown loss was second-year cornerback Maxwell Hairston.
Maxwell Hairston played major role in Bills' loss
With Christian Benford being ruled inactive due to a toe injury from Week 3, this was a perfect chance for Hairston to step up and show that he can be another top corner for the Bills. He was quite the opposite and he looked like the worst one in the Bills' secondary.
He was primarily lined up against Romeo Doubs, who ended up with 6 catches for 58 yards and 2 touchdowns (both of them against Hairston). Doubs had 6 total catches coming into Week 4 and didn't reach the endzone prior to this matchup. Long story short, Hairston made him look like a reliable receiver when he shouldn't have.
This was a forgetful performance by Hairston, and it was so bad that he left the locker room and declined to speak with the media after the game, per Matt Parrino of Syracuse.com. That is just completely unacceptable by Hairston, especially with the way he performed.
However, even though Hairston made a lot of mistakes, his head coach in Joe Brady may have just made a bigger mistake in his postgame comments.
Joe Brady delivers a Maxwell Hairston message that fans won't be happy with
Going into this game, the Bills had elevated preseason standout cornerback Kani Walker and when things were going south for Hairston, it would have made complete sense to replace Hairston with Walker. However, Brady told the media that he wasn't considering it at all, per Matthew Bove.
Brady talked about how he has the confidence in Hairston, and that there is an expectation for him to make those plays, per Bove.
Joe Brady said there wasn’t any consideration putting Kani Walker into the game.
— Matthew Bové (@Matt_Bove) October 4, 2026
“I’ve got all the confidence in Maxwell and balls that are thrown at him, I expect him to go make those plays.”
This statement shouldn't sit well with Bills Mafia. You see that Hairston is struggling heavily, and he wasn't adjusting his game as it progressed. That would have been the time to throw Walker out onto the field and try to be the difference maker. Instead, the Bills still trusted Hairston even though he was clearly struggling.
To have the game that he had, and then ignoring to talk with the media, this is a very bad look for Hairston.
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