Efton Chism III's One-Handed Grab Beat Buffalo, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson Knows It
Efton Chism III spent the week on the practice squad. He spent Sunday afternoon catching a one-handed touchdown that handed the Bills their first loss of the season.
Chism's grab at Highmark Stadium lifted the Patriots to a 29-26 win over Buffalo in Week 4, and it produced the most revealing quote of the postgame. Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson called it a "helluva play." Then he added that New England will "probably won't hear from him again."
That's what a defense says when it has run out of answers. Buffalo's defense came up short all afternoon, and Gardner-Johnson's dismissal lands worse given who was throwing on the other side of it. Josh Allen tossed a late interception, and an earlier pick described elsewhere as the snag of the year helped propel the Patriots in front. Two takeaways against a quarterback who hadn't lost yet.
Drake Maye's numbers were the quieter story and the more sustainable one. He finished 22-of-37 for 269 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt with a 91.0 QBR and a 97.7 passer rating. That's his best game of the season by any measure, and it snapped the early-season slide that had followed him into October. New England needed the version of Maye that showed up Sunday, not the one from the first three weeks.
"Gets us back in the race," coach Mike Vrabel said of the 29-26 result.
He's right about the standings, and he's right about the reason. A Patriots team that had been losing the turnover battle won it, and won on the road, in a building where Buffalo rarely loses.
My verdict: Chism won't stay on the practice squad through the week. A game-winning one-handed catch in a divisional road win forces the roster decision, and the Patriots don't have the receiver depth to pretend otherwise. Gardner-Johnson's line is the kind that gets screenshotted and replayed in January, and the Patriots and Bills play again. Bank on the quote resurfacing. Bank on Chism getting a real look before it does.
