Patriots stun Bills 29-26 on Chism's one-handed touchdown
Efton Chism III caught the winner with 1:50 left and Craig Woodson sealed it, as New England won in Buffalo without Christian Gonzalez, Christian Barmore and A.J. Brown.
Patriots stun Bills 29-26 on Chism’s one-handed touchdown
The bottom line: Efton Chism III caught a 23-yard touchdown from Drake Maye with 1:50 left, Craig Woodson intercepted Josh Allen with 1:05 to play, and the Patriots beat the Bills 29-26 at Highmark Stadium without cornerback Christian Gonzalez, defensive tackle Christian Barmore and receiver A.J. Brown. New England is 2-2. Buffalo takes its first loss and falls to 3-1.
Maye’s best day of the season carries a comeback
The bottom line: Maye threw three touchdown passes and ran for 54 yards, and New England scored the last eight points of the game to win it.
The details:
- Maye finished 22 of 37 for 269 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, and led the Patriots with 54 rushing yards on eight carries.
- Chism’s winning catch came on a 23-yard throw to the right corner as Maye rolled right. Maye then found Rhamondre Stevenson for the two-point conversion and a 29-26 lead.
- Woodson picked off Allen with 1:05 to play, leaping in front of a deep throw to a double-covered Joshua Palmer. Maye hit Hunter Henry along the right sideline for the first down that ended it.
- Romeo Doubs caught both of New England’s other touchdowns, a 14-yarder in the first quarter and a 2-yard fade in the third. He finished with six catches for 58 yards.
- Allen went 23 of 33 for 253 yards with a touchdown and the interception. His 2-yard rushing score was the 88th touchdown from scrimmage of his career, a franchise record, passing Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas.
- Keon Coleman had six catches for 116 yards and a 34-yard touchdown that put Buffalo up 26-21 with 4:27 left. The Bills failed the two-point try.
The numbers: New England outgained Buffalo 405 yards to 340, held the ball for 33:41, converted both fourth downs and scored on all three red-zone trips. Both teams turned it over twice.
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
| Buffalo | 0 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 26 |
The backdrop: The Patriots had lost 35-6 at Jacksonville the week before. Mike Vrabel drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter and did not walk it back afterward. “I told him it was a terrible – I’m not going to say – f’ng call. I’ve said that 87 times as a head coach,” he said in his postgame press conference. On Maye: “He’s extremely prepared and focused. He had a good week of practice. For the most part I thought there was some protection. He was decisive.” On beating the AFC East leader: “It gets us back in the race. Our guys worked extremely hard this week. We knew it was going to be a battle.”
Gonzalez, Barmore and Brown all sat out
The bottom line: The Patriots ruled out cornerback Christian Gonzalez and defensive tackle Christian Barmore with shoulder injuries, and played again without receiver A.J. Brown.
The details:
- Gonzalez, the team’s star cornerback, and Barmore were ruled out with shoulder injuries, leaving the defense to turn to Charles Woods and Karon Prunty. Cornerback Channing Canada, tackle Dametrious Crownover, tight end Tanner Arkin and quarterback Behren Morton were also inactive.
- Brown, New England’s No. 1 receiver, has been out with a high ankle sprain. Chism has played in each of the last three games and made one start in his place.
- Safety Craig Woodson, edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones, tackle Morgan Moses and tight end Eli Raridon were all active. Woodson made the game-sealing interception. Jones pressured Allen on the play.
Gardner-Johnson calls Chism a ‘practice squad player.’ Vrabel answers.
The bottom line: Bills defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson dismissed the winning catch and the player who made it. Chism has never been on a practice squad, and Vrabel responded on the radio a day later.
What Gardner-Johnson said: “We’re not going to get into any bulletin board material,” he said postgame. “An elevated guy made a hell of a catch – probably won’t hear from him again. … A practice squad player made a hell of a play. That’s all I’m going to tell you. You do it again, and he probably won’t make it again.”
He also said of the Patriots: “They didn’t do s—. They didn’t do s— better than us. We’ve got to play better.”
The correction: Chism joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and made the 53-man roster at the start of last season. He has appeared in 11 regular-season games and has never been on New England’s practice squad.
What Vrabel said: Told of the comments on his weekly WEEI appearance Monday, Vrabel said Gardner-Johnson has “been on eight teams in four years” and “I guess he knows the drill.” He praised Chism in the same interview, saying “Nobody works harder” and “You love to see players take advantage of opportunities and help the team win.” Vrabel added that Chism is “on the show team” and “takes a million reps.”
Minor correction on Vrabel: Gardner-Johnson has been on seven teams in an eight-year career, and four teams in the last two years. His career includes practice-squad time with the Bears and Ravens.
The teams play again in Week 13 in New England.
Our take
I will happily eat my words after my prediction last week (you can see it here but please don’t look at it).
Look at what New England was missing. Its No. 1 receiver, its star corner and a starting defensive tackle, all out, on the road, against the division leader. The division leader with Josh Allen at QB, in case you forgot.
The Pats were a team with several built-in excuses if they lost this one, and the Patriots had every chance to pack it in and use them when Coleman’s 34-yard touchdown made it 26-21 Buffalo with 4:27 to go. Instead, the Pats scored the last eight points of the game.
Maye was the difference, and not in the way the box score alone tells it. Three touchdowns is nice. Fifty-four rushing yards and a quarterback who looked like he’d decided something before the snap is the part worth keeping. “He was decisive,” Vrabel said, and we agree.
Then there’s Chism. WHAT A CATCH. Bills’ DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a tantrum after the game and called him a practice squad player who won’t be heard from again. Chism’s never been on a practice squad (Gardner-Johnson has though, not that it matters), and the catch that beat Buffalo was a one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone with the game on it. Chism belongs on the field.
The Pats and Bills play again in Week 13 in Foxboro - I’m already fired up for it.