New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel answered Buffalo Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson on Monday, October 5, a day after Gardner-Johnson brushed aside the one-handed touchdown by receiver Efton Chism III that beat the Bills 29–26 in Orchard Park.
The exchange adds an edge to an AFC East series that already turned on one play. New England snapped Buffalo’s unbeaten start, and the two clubs still have a second meeting in Foxborough later this season.
What was said
Speaking to reporters after the loss, Gardner-Johnson conceded that the grab was a great one but described Chism as a practice-squad player and suggested the league would not hear much more from him.
Vrabel responded during a Boston radio interview on Monday, turning the focus to the safety’s own career path. “For a guy that’s been on 8 teams in four years? I mean, I guess he knows the drill,” Vrabel said.
Gardner-Johnson has moved between clubs repeatedly since 2022, the record Vrabel was pointing to. Gardner-Johnson had not publicly answered the coach as of Tuesday morning.
Gardner-Johnson’s description of Chism was also wrong on the facts. The Patriots never placed Chism on their practice squad at any point. An undrafted rookie from Eastern Washington in 2025, he won a place on the 53-man roster after a preseason in which he caught 12 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
The play that started it
Buffalo had gone ahead 26–21 with 4:27 left when Josh Allen found Keon Coleman for a 34-yard touchdown, though the Bills failed on the two-point try. Drake Maye then drove New England downfield, and with 1:50 remaining he lofted a 23-yard throw that Chism pulled in with one hand in the end zone. Maye added the two-point conversion on a pass to Rhamondre Stevenson for the final three-point margin.
EFTON CHISM UP THE LADDER 🪜
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/GyG8qKRktb
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 4, 2026
Chism finished with two catches for 42 yards on four targets. Maye completed 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, two of the scores going to Romeo Doubs. New England outgained Buffalo 404 yards to 340 and held the ball for 33 minutes and 41 seconds.
Chism arrived in the NFL with heavy production behind him: a senior year at Eastern Washington with 120 receptions for 1,311 yards and 13 scores. His role has grown with the receiver room in flux, and Vrabel has said Chism’s play could earn him more chances. Read more on the Patriots–Bills Game Center.
What comes next
The win lifted New England to 2–2, while Buffalo fell to 3–1. The Patriots host the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, October 11, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. The Bills visit the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, October 12, at 8:15 p.m. EDT.
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