The Bills made a mess of Sunday, but C.J. Gardner-Johnson cleaned up the biggest mistake at the perfect time.
Buffalo had already given the ball away five times when the Chargers moved to the Bills’ 23-yard line with a chance to stretch the lead to two scores. On third-and-5, Justin Herbert tried to fit a throw toward Marques Valdez-Scantling near the end zone, and Gardner-Johnson broke on it for the interception, then took off 41 yards to near midfield.
“You go fishing? What's that word you use to catch fish?
What's the word?" he asked reporters in the locker room after the win.
"Bait. Great bait.
That's a great fishing play."
That was the kind of moment Gardner-Johnson has built his reputation on. The veteran safety has six-interception seasons on his résumé twice, including last season with the Philadelphia Eagles during their championship run.
“They'd been giving us opportunities all day,” he added. “And I told my DB, I told my corners, and nickels, go press and I'm there over the top no matter where you at and I'm going to come get you.”
Buffalo still left plays on the table. Maxwell Hairston had a first-quarter interception slip through his hands, and Gardner-Johnson had another takeaway wiped out by a Christian Benford holding penalty.
Herbert, meanwhile, had already been struggling on deep throws this season, entering the game with just 1 of 12 completions on passes of 20 or more yards downfield and three interceptions. Gardner-Johnson said the Chargers quarterback kept trusting his arm.
“He's a good quarterback," but you know, " Gardner-Johnson noted about Herbert. "He trusted his arm.
I think he get everything in there, which is not bad for a quarterback like him on his caliber. So, I feel like I had to capitalize on the on the tight throws, and I think I capitalized today on a good one."
Even with all the chaos, the result carried a strange bit of history. ESPN reported that Buffalo had not won a game with such an ugly turnover margin since 1997, when it beat the Indianapolis Colts. Jim Harbaugh was the Colts’ starting quarterback that day, and now he was on the other sideline in Los Angeles.
Gardner-Johnson received a game ball from head coach Joe Brady after the win, and he made his view of the group plain.
“I feel like we a championship team.”
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