Worthy of Preparation: Reid Addresses Receiver’s Lack of Yards

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Chiefs played arguably their worst game of the season in a 28-21 loss at Buffalo. Still, they lost by only one score.

Maxwell Hairston was a big reason why. The rookie’s detailed study of Xavier Worthy in days leading up to the game paid important dividends. Worthy had just three catches for 23 yards against the Bills, but Andy Reid credited the lack of production to Buffalo’s ability to neutralize Worthy, not Kansas City’s pass distribution in an “everybody gotta eat” receiver corps.

“We try to get them all involved the best we can,” the Chiefs’ head coach said Monday afternoon. “Sometimes, some games, you're just going to have that where they're taking somebody away. That's how it goes. That's what happens, how the coverage goes; that's how the play call goes and so on.”

Low catch percentage in Buffalo

It’s what happened in Buffalo. Patrick Mahomes targeted Worthy seven times, but Hairston limited the receiver to only three catches. That 42.9-percent catch percentage was one of the lowest marks of the young player’s career.

And that’s significant and timely because the Chiefs (5-4) visit Denver (8-2) on Sunday (3:25 p.m. CT, CBS/KCTV, Channel 5, 96.5 The Fan). The last time a team neutralized Worthy like that was the Broncos, who held him to just one catch in four targets (25.0 percent) in the Chiefs’ 16-14 win last Nov. 10.

This week, though, the Broncos aren’t expected to have reigning Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain available on Sunday. The All-Pro cornerback sustained a pectoral injury at Dallas and could miss another game this week.

Still No. 1 in Kansas City's plans

Regardless of who’s in the Denver secondary on Sunday, Reid reiterated that Worthy is still big in the Chiefs’ plans.

“We're not down on Xavier Worthy,” Reid said Monday. “We know he's a good player, and we'd like to get all the players’ hands on the ball the best way we can. It just hasn't rolled that way.”

Hairston got his hands on the ball to register his first career interception in that Bills win Nov. 2. Afterward, Mahomes said he was targeting Worthy to avoid a costly fourth-quarter sack.

“Yeah, 100 percent,” Mahomes confirmed after the game Nov. 2. “I mean, you don’t want to throw interceptions, don't get me wrong. But if you're gonna throw it, make it down the field and give the guy a chance in that situation.

“And it almost worked out for us, because we able to get the stop and have a chance at the Hail Mary a couple times. But yeah, I mean, there's no reason to take the sack there. Throw it up there, maybe get it and make a big-time play or something like that. But they made a play, and were in the right coverage.”

maxwell hairsto — Nov 2, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston (31) intercepts the ball in the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

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