The Buffalo Bills suffered their first loss of the 2026 NFL season.
Buffalo suffered a frustrating 29-26 loss at home to the New England Patriots on Sunday. The Bills’ defense struggled throughout the day, which is still a major concern. Starting cornerback Maxwell Hairston was one of the players who struggled.
Despite the loss, Buffalo dropped to 3-1 and remains atop the AFC East.
Buffalo Bills HC Defends Maxwell Hairston
The Bills’ defense struggled, and starting cornerback Maxwell Hairston was picked apart.
Hairston remained in the game, in large part because Christian Benford was injured. After the game, Bills head coach Joe Brady defended Hairston and explained why he continued to play.
“There’s a reason that Maxwell Hairston is out there,” Brady said postgame. “We’re young on defense. We need to be able to work through some things. I trust our defensive coaches. I don’t want to be a micromanager and say ‘hey, take him out.’ I’ve got all the confidence in Maxwell.”
The Bills did elevate undrafted cornerback Kani Walker from the practice squad, but he didn’t play any snaps. Brady said his confidence in Hairston is why Walker didn’t play.
“I’ve got all the confidence in Maxwell and balls that are thrown at him, I expect him to go make those plays,” Brady added.
The Bills will play the 2-2 Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, in a game where Buffalo’s defense will be tested again.
Buffalo HC Discusses Loss to Patriots
The Bills suffered a disappointing loss to the Patriots on Sunday, falling to 3-1 on the year.
It was a frustrating loss for Buffalo as the Bills had chances to win the game, but they made costly errors on offense and defense.
“We just didn’t get in a rhythm today,” Brady said postgame. “We had a couple drives, had some three and outs, and that can’t happen. Starting with the first drive of the game, and the sudden change, three and out after we get the turnover. We had opportunities to be able to sustain drives and some looks that we know are coming and we weren’t executing. We have to look and see why.”
The Bills will have extra time this week to get ready for the Rams and Brady knows the team has lots of work to do.
“The wins and losses are all the same to me. I don’t mean that in a negative way. When we win, I still have the same mindset of like we’re putting a lot of stuff on tape that’s going to cause us to lose, and we got to continue to play better, but the last three times we’ve left the stadium, I’ve left pissed off. So, the wins and losses is never what it’s about. It’s about playing clean winning football and giving ourselves a chance to win.”
Buffalo will go on the road for their next two games.
Buffalo Bills Head Coach Defends Maxwell Hairston Amid Struggles