C.J. Gardner-Johnson didn’t sound interested in making Sunday’s loss to the New England Patriots into a referendum on the Buffalo Bills. He saw one play, gave credit in his own blunt way, and then made it clear he expected the conversation to move on.
The play that decided the game came late in the Patriots’ 29-26 win, when Drake Maye found Efton Chism III for the go-ahead touchdown. Gardner-Johnson called Chism “an elevated guy” and said, “Probably won’t hear from him again, respectfully.
And I say that with a lot of confidence because it’s like, (Maye) didn’t put his confidence in his best player. If that was it, he would have thrown it to (Romeo) Doubs or somebody.”
Chism, though, is on the 53-man roster, not a practice squad elevation, and he beat tight coverage from rookie Davison Igbinosun, who was starting for the injured Christian Benford. The catch stood up as the winner.
Maye certainly leaned on Doubs, too. The free agent signing hauled in six catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns as New England improved to 2-2 and left Orchard Park with 405 total yards and four scores after opening the day at 1-2 with 36 points through three games.
Gardner-Johnson brushed aside the idea that the Patriots had suddenly solved something bigger.
“There wasn’t no issue. They didn’t do nothing crazy,” he said.
“They won the game. Whatever, they didn’t do s--- better than us.
We gotta play better, and they can mark that. We’ll be back and see them again at the end of the year.
So they better have that same energy. They only put up, what?
Twenty-something points? They barely scored.
They struggled all game.”
Buffalo cornerback Max Hairston took the heat on the scoreboard, allowing both Doubs touchdowns, but Gardner-Johnson refused to make him the target.
“We’re not gonna point out Max,” he said. “Max played a hell of a game.
He is one of our great young players. I trusted him.
It’s just a get-better moment. He didn’t do nothing wrong.”
For Gardner-Johnson, the answer on the back end is straightforward: more work, more focus, more urgency in practice.
“We just got to get better, take practice more serious as a group, as units,” he said. “So when those moments come, we make the play.
Not saying (Max is) not or we’re not. It’s just like I said, our best is required at all times, not just certain times.
And I feel like today they got the best of us.”
Bills coach Joe Brady took a different tack, saying the loss should sting but stressing the response more than the blame. He warned against turning inward on teammates.
“What are we going to do about it?” Brady said.
“I’ve always believed that great teams don’t have to lose to learn, but we lost the football game, and it’s now what are we putting out there. And are we going to sit there now that we lost and point some fingers?
“I think everybody in that locker room right now needs to sit there and say, ‘hey, you know what, I’ve got to be better. If I’m better and I worry about making myself better right now, then we’ll continue to improve as a football team.’ ”
Gardner-Johnson, meanwhile, was already looking past the final score.
“Everybody knows who’s the better team,” he said. “Everybody says, ‘oh, you see the score,’ but the better team lost today.
But we’ll come back. We’ll be back.”
In Other News...
Packers Defense Just Raised A Bigger Concern Before Bears Week
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What makes the victory feel more revealing, though, is the way the defense kept winning the biggest snaps while the broader picture around the unit stayed unsettled. Under coordinator Jonathan Gannon, the Packers are 2-2 after the latest grind-it-out effort, but the performance also sharpened the discussion heading into Bears week about whether the defense is simply making timely plays or masking a concern that could matter more against a sharper opponent. [Read more 🡒]
Packers May Have Found A Needed Short-Term Answer Up Front
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It was not a flawless debut, but it was sturdy enough to suggest the Packers may have found a workable short-term fix while the room sorts itself out. Pro Football Focus graded Glover at 59.4 overall, which fits the profile of a player who steadied a spot that had been in flux. Kevin Zeitler is expected back once fully ready, but until then Green Bay at least has a name it can trust to keep the line moving. [Read more 🡒]
Matt LaFleur Nearly Turned A Needed Packers Win Into A Collapse
The Packers got the result they needed on Sunday, edging the Buccaneers 17-14, but the final stretch had plenty of reason to leave Green Bay uneasy. Matt LaFleurs team had done enough earlier to put itself in position to close the game out, and Tampa Bays offense was mostly stuck in neutral, with the run game serving as its only consistent source of movement.
Still, the late-game sequence turned a routine finish into a tense one. LaFleurs decision to pass in a critical fourth-quarter drive ended with an interception and suddenly gave the Buccaneers a path back into a game that seemed within Green Bays grasp. The Packers escaped with the win, but the way it nearly unraveled is the kind of coaching choice that will linger a lot longer than the final score. [Read more 🡒]