Bills coaches offer preview on QB Drake Maye, a rookie CB steps up and initial Week 4 injury outlook

Sep 28, 2026 at 05:19 PM

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The Bills coaching staff met with the media Monday to discuss their Week 3 win over the Chargers and look ahead to their first divisional game of the year in Week 4 when they host New England.

How Jim Leonhard is scouting Patriots QB Drake Maye

The Bills have a tough assignment in Week 4, playing in their first AFC East game of the season against a Patriots team that went into Buffalo a year ago and won. They'll also face a quarterback in Drake Maye who will make for a "tricky" evaluation this week for the Bills defense, according to defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.

Maye, the 2025 MVP runner up, has one touchdown pass, six interceptions thrown and has been sacked nine times in three games so far. It's a stark contrast to the player Leonhard had to prepare for in the AFC Championship game in late January.

"You turn on the tape from last year, and it was dynamic," Leonhard said. "We played him in Denver, obviously at the end of the year, and you got to see the best version of what he was going into that game."

Last season, Maye guided the Patriots to an AFC East division title and a Super Bowl appearance. He threw for nearly 4,400 yards, 31 passing touchdowns and four rushing touchdowns in the regular season.

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Maye threw for three touchdowns in the AFC Divisional Round win over Houston before Denver held him to zero touchdowns and sacked him five times a week later. The QB was sacked six times and threw two picks in the Super Bowl against Seattle.

Leonhard described Maye's 2025 postseason performance (4 INTs, 21 sacks in 4 games) as "slip ups" compared to his regular season film which was "MVP level". The postseason slip ups have now bled into his early 2026 performances as Maye and the Patriots come to Buffalo with the lowest-scoring offense at 12.0 points per game.

"You're watching a guy now that's you can tell he's going through some stuff and struggling a little bit, but at the same time he drops back and hits his top step and lets one rip and it's an explosive play," Leonhard said.

What Leonhard will be focused on this week for his game plan is finding creative ways to not let Maye break out of his slump.

"You just have to put some pressure on him and hope that the trend continues," Leonhard shared. "Great players are eventually going to come out the other side. You just hope it's after you play them."

"A dialed-in kid" | Praise for rookie Bills corner

Even when the team announced second-year player Maxwell Hairston as one of the team's starting corners at the beginning of the season, there was still a clear plan in place to give rookie Davison Igbinosun in-game reps to help his development.

The second-rounder played 10 defensive snaps in Week 1 and 15 snaps in Week 2. That share grew to 29 snaps against the Chargers as Igbinosun was thrust into starting duties after cornerback Christian Benford left the game with a toe injury early in the third quarter.

Igbinosun recorded five tackles and one pass breakup which came in a man coverage situation against 6-foot-3 wide receiver Quentin Johnston.

Buffalo Bills vs Los Angeles Chargers, Regular Season, September 27, 2026 at Highmark Stadium.

Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said that rotating 'IGB' into the rotation early in the year is beneficial, should an injury like Benford's occur, because it gives young players a chance to get into the flow without having the immediate pressure of filling in for a starter.

"You don't want a guy's first opportunity to play to be when he has to," Leonhard said. "He's gotten some snaps the first two games, he's learned from it, and he stepped up. He played huge and tackled really well."

If Benford were to miss any time, Leonhard has confidence Igbinosun can be a player who steps into that role.

"He's always ready. He's a dialed-in kid who just loves to compete, and he showed up in a big way when we needed him yesterday," Leonhard said.

Injury outlook for Week 4

There was potential concern for a Josh Allen lower body injury coming out of Sunday's game, but head coach Joe Brady does not believe it is anything to worry about right now.

"Josh is always a little [sore] the day after the game, but I'm never usually concerned about him," he said.

During his tenure so far with the Bills, Brady has not been one to give specifics at the podium regarding player injuries, so further updates on Allen's status will likely come via the team's official injury reports once the practice week starts.

As for Christian Benford, he was seen postgame with a boot on his right leg, though Brady did not have any additional updates on his status for Week 4.