New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel fired back at Buffalo Bills safety CJ Gardner-Johnson for his postgame comments following the Patriots’ 29-26 win on Sunday.
After Gardner-Johnson said the Patriots “didn’t do better than us” and called wide receiver Efton Chism a “practice squad player” who “made a hell of a play” with a one-handed touchdown, Vrabel trolled the eight-year veteran during his radio appearance Monday.
“For a guy who’s been on eight teams in four years? I mean, I guess he knows the drill,” Vrabel said with a laugh.
To be fair to Chism, the undrafted second-year pro has been a member of New England’s 53-man roster since 2025 and has never made the practice squad. He sees more opportunity in the Patriots’ offense this year as star AJ Brown recovers from a sprained ankle, and he had a highlight reel in catching a touchdown pass from Drake Maye with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game.
“We all think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Chism said of Maye. Sports IllustratedIt’s Albert Breer. “He’s playing every week, every day in practice. So we have to continue to be there for him. And every time he gives us an opportunity as a receiver or a running back or anyone else, be there for him so he can develop that confidence in himself, as we all know. He’s a great player, a great captain and a great guy.”
It was a well-deserved victory for a Patriots team coming off a disastrous 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3.
“I think no matter what happened in the previous weeks or what the future is, we are focused on that and we continue to build that identity,” Chism said. “And it’s not going to become something overnight. We’re going to have to continue to finish, and make the effort to finish, and just be those guys that continue to play relentlessly.”
Still, Gardner-Johnson was unimpressed when he blasted Chism and the rest of the Patriots after the Bills ended their three-game winning streak.
“Look, we’re not going to get into the subject of billboards,” Gardner-Johnson told reporters. “High guy made a hell of a catch. He probably won’t be heard from again. Respectfully. And I say that with a lot of confidence because… (Drake Maye) didn’t trust his best player. He would have thrown it to (Romeo) Doubs or something. But they won the game. It doesn’t matter. They didn’t do better than us. We have to play better. And they can score him. We’ll be back to see them again at the end of the year, so they could have the same energy and they scored, what, twenty points? They barely scored, they struggled the whole game.
It’s safe to say that Gardner-Johnson provided the scoreboard material that New England will use when it faces Buffalo again in December. The AFC East rivals are among the top Super Bowl contenders in the conference, so it won’t be a surprise to see even more fireworks in their next game.
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