The New England Patriots had more yards, first downs and expected points per play than the Buffalo Bills in Week 4. Most importantly, they had more points, beating their division rival with a final score of 29-26.
And yet, if Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is to be believed, the better team actually did not come out on top on Sunday.
“Today, they got the best of us. You have to come out and play better. Everybody knows who is the better team. ‘Oh, you see the score.’ The better team lost today,
”Gardner-Johnson said in the Bills locker room after the game.
“They wanted to give us the game. They had no confidence that’s why they struggled all game.”
Whereas the Bills entered Sunday’s game with a perfect 3-0 record, the Patriots were coming off a 35-6 defeat by the Jacksonville Jaguars. To make matters worse, they were without two of their best defensive players — cornerback Christian Gonzalez and defensive tackle Christian Barmore — and starting third-stringer Ben Brown at the right guard position.
And yet, the Patriots are traveling back to Foxborough as the first road team to win a game at the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium. Needless to say, Gardner-Johnson is not happy about it.
He also is not happy that backup wide receiver Efton Chism was the one to haul in the game-winning touchdown.
“An elevated guy made a hell of a catch. Probably won’t hit him again, respectfully,” Gardner-Johnson said about Chism, who has been on the Patriots’ 53-man roster since his rookie season in 2025. “A practice squad player made a hell of a play. He threw it again, he probably won’t make it again. …
“I say that with a lot of confidence because had he put his confidence in his best player, he would have hit [Romeo] Doubs or somebody. They didn’t do s—t better than us. … They put up, what, 20-something points? They barely scored. They struggled all game.”
The Patriots ended the game scoring 29 points and gaining 405 yards on Gardner-Johnson and the Bills defense. New England had averaged 12 points per game before Sunday.
