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'He's just dialed in going Superman mode' | Bills react to Josh Allen and new defensive attitude

Nov 02, 2025 at 09:40 PM

Sydney Ciano

Seasonal writing associate

Buffalo beat Kansas City on Sunday, 28-21, and the Bills' offense got going immediately on the first drive of the evening.

Against Carolina in Week 8, the run game dominated with running back James Cook having a career-high performance. On Sunday, it was the pass game that needed to get in gear.

Josh Allen taps back into his MVP persona

Before kickoff came around, the team knew quarterback Josh Allen was locked in.

"One hundred percent," tight end Dawson Knox said regarding how he can sense when Allen is on a different level heading into game day. "But the funny thing is, he's got the same routine every week … you can tell early when he's just dialed in going Superman mode. It's pretty awesome."

After getting backtracked in Chiefs territory due to a four-yard loss on first down, Allen ignited the pass game and got tight end Dalton Kincaid rolling early. Allen connected with wide receiver Curtis Samuel that brought up third-and-eight. Wide open heading into the end zone, Kincaid caught Allen's 23-yard pass and put Buffalo on the board, 7-0.

The pass game exceeded the run game on Sunday with 263 net yards in the air to the 141 yards gained on the ground. During the week, the Bills talked about how being two-dimensional is necessary. Coming off of a run-heavy performance against the Panthers, Allen and his offense proved that the pass game is still a threat.

Allen threw only three incompletions against Kansas City out of 26 attempts for 273 yards. His 88.5 completion percentage was the highest in a single game in Bills history with a minimum of 15 passing attempts. He also was credited with three touchdowns, two rushing and one passing.

Kincaid led the receiving group, catching all six targets for 101 yards. He became the first tight end in Bills history to log three, 100-plus yard games in his career. With two of those performances happening in 2025, Kincaid joined Paul Costa as the second player in team history to do so.

Defensive attitude stands out on the field and the sidelines

While Allen was driving the offense down the field, defensive end Michael Hoecht was energizing the defense on the field and eventually on the sidelines.

Hoecht had two tackles and had half a sack with defensive end Greg Rousseau for a combined nine-yard loss. However, his evening came to an end in the fourth quarter. Head coach Sean McDermott said in his postgame press conference that Hoecht tore his Achilles and will be out for the remainder of the season.

"It's a big loss," McDermott said of the defensive end. "I thought he gave us a certain level of toughness, smarts, knowing how to play the game. "We've got to find somebody else that is going to step up. It's kind of one of those years … You can never replace one player, that said, it's about the team."

Despite the in-game injury, Hoecht remained on the sidelines, helping coach the rest of the defense. Safety Cole Bishop said that instead of getting carted off the field, he wanted to remain with the team on the sidelines to finish out the game.

In only his second game of his NFL career, rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston kept standing out in good ways.

Kansas City had less than five minutes left in the game to bring itself out of a seven-point deficit. At the end of the first half, Mahomes and his receivers managed to connect on two passes for 20 and 40 yards that placed the offense right in front of the goal line. Though the defense held the Chiefs to a field goal, the Bills didn't want to take any chances with a 28-21 lead.

On third-and-10, Mahomes took a deep shot as pressure from defensive end came in. Hairston was in the perfect area covering wide receiver Xavier Worthy and recorded his first career interceptions that put the control and fate of the game back in Buffalo's hands.

"He was on his way out smiling ear to ear. He's got a bright smile. He brings a lot of energy," Bishop said of Hairston. "… Positive energy goes a long way."