ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — So much for home-field advantage.
After the Buffalo Bills‘ new-look secondary was again torched Sunday — New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns — veteran cornerback Dee Alford thinks he has identified the problem: the crowd noise at new Highmark Stadium has proven to be a lot to overcome.
“Sometimes the games can be super loud to the point where we’re not able to get the play as fast as we need it, and those guys are already lined up and we’re scrambling to get the play and now we’ve got to hurry up and line up,” Alford said after the 29-26 loss, the Bills’ first of the season. “Sometimes we don’t be able to get the play. That’s not an excuse. That’s just something we’ve got to … get better with as a secondary as far as communication.”
Through four games, the Bills have allowed 1,096 yards and 10 passing touchdowns; eight of those have come in the first three games at new Highmark Stadium.
There’s also a lot of new in this Bills’ secondary.
Alford and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson are in their first season in Buffalo. Second-year cornerback Maxwell Hairston has already started more games in 2026 than he did in all of 2025. Rookie Davison Igbinosun was thrust into a starting role for the first time versus New England with regular starter Christian Benford injured. And with depth piece Jordan Hancock on injured reserve, Alford’s mid-game injury against the Patriots forced the Bills to get even more creative in the back end with how they used Gardner-Johnson and reserve safety Damar Hamlin.
Add all that to the overall transition to first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard’s scheme and it’s hardly a surprise that the unit is struggling. On Sunday, however, the struggles felt magnified.
The Patriots entered Sunday’s game with Maye having thrown just one touchdown pass — with six interceptions — in three games. Meanwhile, No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown is on injured reserve and big-money offseason pickup Romeo Doubs hadn’t been producing consistently.
All that changed against the Bills, though, as Maye completed 22 passes to seven different targets.
Doubs caught as many passes as he had in the first three games combined and beat Hairston for two touchdowns. Seldom-used depth piece Efton Chism came into Sunday with negative receiving yards on the year but ended up beating Igbinosun one-on-one for the game-winning score by making a one-handed catch.
Bills coach Joe Brady said postgame that he didn’t consider benching Hairston for poor performance and trusts his defensive coaches to handle substitutions as necessary.
Alford said he’s dealing with a right ankle injury sustained in the third quarter and will need an MRI before making any declarations about his long-term health.
“I don’t really know too much right now, but I feel good,” Alford said. “I’m a warrior so I’m ready for whatever.”
