Heavy criticism of former Eagles player for misguided opinion following loss

C.J. Gardner-Johnson was not in the mood to give New England Patriots much credit after Buffalo Bills ’ loss Sunday.

The Bills safety acknowledged Efton Chism III ’s decisive touchdown catch, but he immediately downplayed the receiver’s significance and suggested the moment was unlikely to be repeated.

“We’re not going to get into no bulletin board material,” Gardner-Johnson told reporters. “An elevated guy made a hell of a catch. Probably won’t hear from him again, respectfully.”

He then added: “A practice squad player made a hell of a play.”

Gardner-Johnson’s shot at Chism factually wrong

Chism has never been on the Patriots ’ practice squad. The former Eastern Washington standout made New England’s initial 53-man roster as a rookie and did so again this season, making Gardner-Johnson ’s description inaccurate.

The mistake was especially easy to seize on because Gardner-Johnson himself spent time on Baltimore’s practice squad last year before being released.

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel added more fuel to the fire Monday morning during an appearance on The Greg Hill Show.

“For a guy that’s been on eight teams in four years?” Vrabel said. “I mean, I guess he knows the drill.”

That response turned Gardner-Johnson ’s postgame jab into something much bigger than a throwaway comment.

Chism’s catch was play that decided game

The receiver Gardner-Johnson dismissed had just delivered one of the biggest moments of New England’s season.

With less than two minutes remaining, Drake Maye threw on the move and Chism made a one-handed, 23-yard touchdown catch to put the Patriots ahead.

Chism finished the game with two receptions for 42 yards, while Maye completed 22 of 37 passes for 269 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Gardner-Johnson still refused to treat the loss as evidence that New England had outplayed Buffalo.

“They won the game, whatever,” he said. “They ain’t do s**t better than us. We gotta play better. And they can mark that. We’ll be back, see them again at the end of the year. So, they better have that same energy.”

That confidence is hardly unusual for Gardner-Johnson , who has built much of his reputation around playing with an edge and speaking just as aggressively afterward.

This time, however, the bigger issue wasn't the trash talk itself. It was that the central detail behind it was wrong.

Buffalo gets another shot at New England on December 6. Until then, Gardner-Johnson ’s comments will remain an easy talking point for a Patriots team that already had the final word on the scoreboard.