Tag: kaiir elam interception

Kaiir Elam interception sets up Cole Beasley TD reception for Bills

The Bills turned an interception into a touchdown and the lead

The Miami Dolphins had the lead in the third quarter and whatever momentum existed in the NFL Wild-Card Game between AFC East foes Sunday in Buffalo.

Faced with a third-and-19 and with a third-string quarterback playing, Mike McDaniel opted to let Skylar Thompson pass rather than calling a safe draw play and then punting.

The strategy backfired as Thompson’s throw down the left side was intercepted by Bills rookie Kaiir Elam.

Oof.

It took Josh Allen 5 plays to negotiate the 33 yards, finishing the drive with a short pass to Cole Beasley, who slipped into the end zone from 6 yards.

The Bills, who had seen a 17-0 lead disappear were back in front, 27-24.

Thompson was 10-of-28 for 104 yards and 2 TDs with 5 minutes left in the third quarter.

Bills rookie CB Kaiir Elam picks off Patrick Mahomes in the end zone

Buffalo Bills rookie CB Kaiir Elam had his second career interception at the best possible time — against Patrick Mahomes in the end zone.

The Buffalo Bills have been dealing with injuries in their secondary all season. Tre’Davious White, their best cornerback, is still recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last season. Safety Micah Hyde, 50% of the NFL’s best duo at his position when healthy, is out for the season with a neck injury. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has been rotating guys in as need be throughout the season, and one of the stars so far has been rookie cornerback Kaiir Elam, the 23rd overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Florida.

Through the first five games of his inaugural NFL campaign, Elam had allowed 17 catches on 23 targets for 176 yards, 72 yards after the catch, no touchdowns, one interception, one pass breakup, and an opponent passer rating of 77.4.

And with 3:28 left in the first quarter of Sunday’s Bills-Chiefs game, Elam came up as big as he possibly could with this end zone interception of Patrick Mahomes, who was pressing to get a touchdown pass to receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Great, acrobatic catch by the rookie, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.