Kwity Paye and Maxx Crosby teamed up for a third-down sack of Malik Willis in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season, a stop that was listed as an 8-yard loss in one account and a 7-yard loss in another. The play put the defensive pairing at the center of one of the opening week highlights.
For readers looking up Paye now, that split in the yardage is the only real wrinkle around the play itself. The sack is clear enough: Paye and Crosby combined on it, Willis took the hit on third down, and the result was negative yardage that short-circuited the drive.
It also fits the larger snapshot of Week 1, when brief defensive moments carried the weight of the early season narrative. This one stands out because it is tied to named players and a single, specific down, not just a generic game recap.
The mismatch in the reported loss is small, but it matters. An 8-yard sack and a 7-yard sack are not the same in the box score, and the source material does not settle which figure was officially credited. What is certain is that Paye and Crosby split the stop, and Willis was the quarterback left to absorb it.
That leaves the play with one unresolved detail and one firm takeaway. Paye and Crosby made the stop together, and the only question left is whether the official ledger will show seven yards or eight.
