ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Buffalo Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston held an impromptu news conference Monday to apologize for his behavior after the Bills' 29-26 loss Sunday and give context to his lackluster performance as criticism of his play heightens through four weeks.
Hairston, the Bills' first-round pick in 2025, allowed a pair of touchdowns in one-on-one coverage against New England Patriots receiver Romeo Doubs in Sunday's loss. After the game, Hairston refused to speak to media about his play as Bills coach Joe Brady was facing down questions about whether Hairston should be benched.
"Feeling very emotional, I let my emotions get the best of me, and I didn't want to say something I might have regretted," Hairston said Monday. "You live and you learn. ... That's kind of immature, and I'm better than that. So I wanted to get that out of the way."
Hairston sums up his recent struggles by explaining he needs to be better with his eyes. He's staring down quarterbacks instead of receivers and thinking about the ball instead of the route. That makes it easier for receivers to finish at the point of attack, since Hairston is a split second behind when his eyes are in the wrong spot.
The Bills' coverage issues extend beyond Hairston. Buffalo ranks 27th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, and only the Detroit Lions are allowing more first downs per game.
Hairston, Dee Alford and Christian Benford all rank among the bottom 10 cornerbacks in the league (minimum 100 coverage snaps) per Pro Football Focus coverage grade.
But Hairston is the one catching heat, in large part because his poor play is also coming across as lackluster effort. With 55 seconds left in Sunday's game, Hairston had an angle on Patriots tight end Hunter Henry on a third-and-10 completion that could've been stopped short and forced a punt to give Josh Allen and the Bills' offense one more chance to tie the score with a field goal. But Hairston wasn't going full speed, and Henry easily cleared the first down.
Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said Hairston's effort clearly wasn't good enough on that play and said Hairston's "emotions are getting the best of him."
"I have to be in control of my emotions within the game," Hairston said in response. "It comes with learning, experiencing certain stuff. I have to be better in that aspect."
Despite all this, Brady remains steadfast that benching Hairston is not in the cards. Hairston will start for Buffalo on "Monday Night Football" against the Los Angeles Rams this week, and Brady is already manifesting a big bounce-back game for his cornerback.
"Max Hairston's going to make a play this week, and you guys are going to be asking me questions like, 'Oh man, what was it like seeing him respond from the previous game?'" Brady said.