ORCHARD PARK - There weren’t many positives the Buffalo Bills could take away from the debacle against the New England Patriots last week, but Keon Coleman’s performance certainly warrants attention.

In the absence of D.J. Moore, who once again had to leave before halftime, the second time that has happened in the first four games, Coleman stepped up and caught six passes for 116 yards including the go-ahead touchdown with 4:27 remaining on a pretty post where he slow played cornerback Charles Woods and then cut sharply to the post and when safety Craig Woodson was late helping, Coleman hauled in Josh Allen’s perfect throw.

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“Yeah, it was tough on a lot of guys when D.J. went out,” coach Joe Brady said. “You're spending a lot of time going through the call sheet, making sure everybody can do this play, who is on this one? How is it going to play out? Keon did a really good of handling some of those changes and Josh has a lot of trust in him. That's the expectation of Keon - given the opportunities, make the most of it. Not a lot of positives, but I was proud of the way he played.”

Coleman has been a polarizing figure ever since the Bills probably over-drafted him at the very top of the second round in 2024. Through two wildly inconsistent seasons, Brady has stuck by him and he made it a point of emphasis as soon as he was named head coach back in January to profess his belief in the player moving forward.

“He hasn’t given a damn about anything but showing up and just going to work,” Brady said Monday. “Not caring about how many targets he gets, what he has to do in the run game, what it looks like in practice. He’s done that since he’s showed up. Josh has a lot of trust in him. Obviously he made some of those big plays at the end of the game.

“That touchdown was obviously a huge, huge component to giving us an opportunity to win the football game. Just him being in that position and being able to be a guy that we can move around and be able to do all those things when some of these situations happen, it speaks to his character and his intelligence.”

Bills may need Keon Coleman even more against the Rams

Moore’s status is uncertain for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams - he was not practicing Thursday. With Joshua Palmer looking more and more like a free agent whiff, the onus will be on Coleman to continue playing the way he did against New England and finally start to fulfill the promise he showed at Florida State, plus reward the faith and patience the Bills have had with him.

“Any chance I get to go out there and play, I'm going to go out there and maximize the time I'm given,” Coleman said. “My mindset’s the same; the mentality and the why behind it is a little more deeply rooted. It's just different vibes, understanding what’s at stake. We want to win. It's year one with coach Brady, and we're going out there with a chip on our shoulder and things to prove.”

We’ve seen games like last week’s from Coleman before, but the issue he has always faced is being able to produce on a week-to-week basis.

In his rookie season he started slowly but then delivered a 125-yard game against the Titans followed by a 70-yard, one-TD game at Seattle, but the following week against the Dolphins he suffered a wrist injury and it derailed the rest of his season. So much so, in fact, that former coach Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane both said publicly that they were disappointed with how he handled the return from the injury.

Last year he erupted for 95 fourth-quarter yards (112 in all) to help spearhead the stunning opening night comeback victory over the Ravens, but over the next eight games he had just 24 catches for 218 yards before another injury took him off the field and again, he never came close to matching that Week 1 performance.

Can Joe Brady finally unlock the version of Coleman the Bills envisioned?

Brady famously said at his introductory news conference that him becoming head coach would be the best thing for Coleman’s career. Well, the jury is still out on that, but Coleman is off to the best start of his NFL tenure with 14 catches for 217 yards and a TD, and he has done that despite an ankle injury that he suffered in Week 2 against the Lions which has limited his practice time.

“Keon was outstanding (Sunday),” Brady said. “Made the big play at the end of the half, but he made a lot of plays without making the play. You watch him in the run game, watch a lot of the motions and some of the tempo indicators that he was doing.

“It speaks to a guy that wasn’t able to get reps in practice. To be able to go out there, both him and D.J., to be able to handle what they can and we’re trying to figure out if they can play, it kind of speaks to who those guys are.”

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills need more of this version of Keon Coleman against Rams

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NEW YORK — Typically a man of many words, Jazz Chisholm Jr. refused to answer a handful of questions after the Rays swept the Yankees in the ALDS on Wednesday night.

Why couldn’t the Yankees get it done against the Rays? What was his reaction to being benched for Anthony Volpe in the Bombers’ most important game of the season? Was he surprised that Aaron Boone didn’t have a conversation with him ahead of time about that decision, something the manager has done in the past?

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“No comment,” Chisholm, decked out in a red Yankees varsity jacket and a matching cap, said each time.

But when it came to the second baseman’s impending free agency, Chisholm reiterated wishes he’s shared in the past.

“I do hope to be back,” he said. “This is where I want to be.”

The feeling may not be mutual with the 28-year-old fresh off a disappointing and turbulent season.

After gaining access to the 30-30 club in 2025, Chisholm predicted, unrealistically, a 50-50 walk year and a payday in excess of $300 million back in spring training. Instead, he hit 19 homers with 41 stolen bases, a .231 average and 55 RBIs. His 98 wRC+ ranked 14th among qualified second baseman, and his .711 OPS ranked 12th.

“I definitely didn’t have my best year this year,” Chisholm acknowledged after adding a .182 average in four playoff games.

He also remained a magnet for unwanted and, at times, unnecessary attention, a theme throughout a seven-year career that began in Miami.

There were certainly funny reasons for that, like when he openly discussed his refusal to wear a cup after hitting a foul ball off his family jewels, or a stretch where he borrowed Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham’s pants and Aaron Judge and José Caballero’s bats for some needed luck.

But there were also multiple instances in which Chisholm wasn’t sure what pitcher the Yankees were about to face. In April, he said he didn’t know a force out rule after an extra-inning loss to the Rays. Boone defended those remarks, but Chisholm’s decision to play second base with a lollipop in his mouth drew the manager’s ire in June. A few days later, he had to apologize to teammates for slamming his helmet and getting ejected, which forced Volpe into a game on short notice.

In August, a WEEI announcer shamefully said that a Red Sox pitcher should fight Chisholm for stealing two bases with a six-run lead; the Yankee wasn’t in the wrong there.

However, Chisholm drew more deserved criticism after making a costly, off-balance, ill-advised throwing error in Game 2 of the ALDS. Afterward, he twice said he would do it again if given the chance.

Once again, Boone defended the comments, even though he thought Chisholm should have held the ball.

“Sometimes when you ask athletes questions, and you got a lot of people around, they answer in a certain way,” Boone said of the matter before Game 3 on Wednesday. “It’s not so literal all the time.”

It’s possible that that will be the last time Boone must answer for the candidly colorful Chisholm, who certainly seemed to wear thin on the Yankees this year more so than he did in 2024 and 2025. Those, of course, were far more productive seasons for the two-time All-Star.

A segment of the fan base certainly lost patience with him, as demonstrated by the chorus of boos that followed a pinch-hit popup on Wednesday.

Chisholm found the jeers puzzling.

“It doesn’t hurt,” he said. “It’s just confusing because it’s the playoffs and we’re trying to win games. So you’re booing a guy that’s playing currently, trying to help the team win, and you’re hearing boos instead of trying to hype guys up. But at the end of the day, it didn’t hurt me because I’ve seen Aaron Judge get booed here, too. So who am I? That’s a three-time MVP.”

Chisholm added that he didn’t know he wouldn’t start until he saw the lineup card, and that he would have preferred to have a conversation with Boone about the decision to go with Volpe. That didn’t happen.

The fact that Chisholm did not start the Yankees’ biggest game of the year and was replaced by a player who is less gifted all around is an indictment on him. It shows just how much the left-handed hitter was trusted with a Rays righty, Nick Martinez, on the mound and the season on the line.

It could also be indicative of the Yankees’ appetite, or lack thereof, for a reunion this winter.

Chisholm will be one of the more talented hitters in a weak free agent class that could overlap with a lockout, so it is hard to predict what type of deal he will get. But it is hard to see the Yankees giving him a multi-year contract. At this point, even the one-year qualifying offer, which will be $23.15 million this offseason, seems like too much for the pinstripers to stomach for a player who comes with so much unpredictability on and off the field.

Still, Chisholm hoped that the good he did in the Bronx will outweigh his trying 2026 campaign, even as he spoke about his tenure in the past tense.

“I love it as a Yankee,” he said. “I grew up as a Yankee fan. Being from the Bahamas, watching Derek Jeter and those guys every day, it was a great time being a Yankee. I loved my time as a Yankee. I had great years with the Yankees. I had an All-Star year. I had a Silver Slugger year. It was great. I mean, who doesn’t want to stay with a team that you’ve had such great times with and great years with?

“To see it maybe end here sucks, but it’s part of the business.”

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