The Buffalo Bills just dropped their first game of the season, a tough 29-26 loss to the New England Patriots, and the post-game chatter is already getting spicy thanks to Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. After a nail-biting finish where the Bills got the ball back down three with over a minute left and three timeouts, their offense coughed it up on the final possession, handing New England the win. Gardner-Johnson, however, wasn’t ready to concede anything, especially not to Patriots receiver Efton Chism III, whose late-game heroics sealed the deal.
“A (Practice Squad) Guy Made a Helluva Catch”
New England’s rookie quarterback Drake Maye put his team ahead late with a deep pass to Chism III in the back corner of the end zone. The athletic one-handed grab came while Bills rookie cornerback Davison Igbinosun, a 2026 second-round pick, was in coverage. You’d think a play like that in crunch time would earn some respect, but Gardner-Johnson had a different take. Post-game, the outspoken safety dismissed Chism’s impact. “A (practice squad) guy made a helluva catch. Probably won’t happen to him again, respectfully,” Gardner-Johnson told reporters. That’s a pretty bold claim to make after a loss that just snapped your 3-0 start, especially when that “practice squad guy” just burned your defense for the go-ahead score.
The Truth About Efton Chism III
Here’s the kicker though: Gardner-Johnson’s description of Chism is straight-up wrong. Efton Chism III wasn’t a practice-squad elevation for this game. Nope. New England had him on their active 53-man roster. This isn’t some temp player; he’s on the squad, and he showed exactly why on Sunday with that clutch play. Chism signed with New England as an undrafted free agent after the 2025 NFL draft, and he sure looked like he belonged when he snatched Maye’s pass for that critical score. Maybe a little humility in defeat would’ve been a better look for Gardner-Johnson, but he clearly thinks differently.
Bills’ Defense Is Bleeding Points, Despite the Confidence
Despite the loss, Gardner-Johnson is exuding confidence, even hyping up the rematch later this season, saying, “We’ll be back, see them again at the end of the year.” But that confidence needs to translate into better defensive play. The Bills defense has been a bit of a sieve this season. They gave up 31 points in their first game, another 31 in their second, then 16 in their third. Now, they’ve surrendered 29 points in this loss to New England. That’s roughly 30 points per game, a trend that has to be worrying for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, even with a 3-1 record. Gardner-Johnson’s trash talk is loud, but his defense’s efficiency needs to rise to match it if they want to live up to that bravado.
The Bills now face a massive challenge next Monday, October 12th. They head on the road for a Monday Night Football showdown against the Super Bowl favorite Los Angeles Rams. It’s a huge test, and we’ll see if that defense can finally tighten things up.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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