Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson dismissed a crucial touchdown catch by Patriots receiver Efton Chism as made by a "practice squad player" after Sunday's game. This led to verbal exchanges between the teams, with Gardner-Johnson also downplaying the Patriots' victory. The article highlights that Chism was an undrafted free agent who won a roster spot and has never been on a practice squad, while Gardner-Johnson had been on Baltimore’s practice squad last season. Coach Mike Vrabel responded to these comments during his radio appearance, suggesting that Gardner-Johnson's criticism is misplaced given his own career history.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills are engaging in a heated verbal exchange as they compete for dominance in the AFC East. After the Patriots secured a victory against the Bills on Sunday, tensions escalated with both teams trading barbs through media appearances. For instance, Patriots receiver Efton Chism made a spectacular one-handed touchdown catch late in the game, which was dismissed by Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who said he wouldn't be impressed by such plays and suggested that the Patriots' quarterback, Drake Maye, should rely more on his top players. This ongoing feud adds an extra layer of drama to their upcoming games in the division.
Written for “NFL Team Rivalry Trash Talk” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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No political leaning scored for article 58025 · logged 2026-10-05
The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills are fighting for dominance in the AFC East and that will be settled on the field, but following Sunday's victory by coach Mike Vrabel's team the fight became a little war of words.
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fight → fight → words
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uncertain
page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
Consider that Patriots receiver Efton Chism made an incredible one-handed touchdown catch inside of two minutes to play that provided the winning points against Buffalo.
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that → consider → Buffalo
Not if you ask Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson who dismissed the play, the receiver, and then dismissed the Patriots victory.
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who → ask → victory
No disrespect, of course, he said.
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he → say → course
"Listen, we're not gonna get into no bulletin board material," Gardner-Johnson told reporters gathered around his locker.
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Johnson → listen → locker
"An elevated guy made a hell of a catch.
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guy → make → catch
And I say that with a lot of confidence, because it's like, [Patriots quarterback Drake Maye] need to put his confidence in his best player.
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Maye → say → player
If that's what he threw, he would have thrown it to [Romeo] Doubs or somebody.
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he → throw → Doubs
"A practice squad player made a hell of a play," Gardner-Johnson repeated.
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Johnson → make → play
Then he laughed.
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he → laugh → ?
CJGJ, as he's affectionately referred to in some circles, wasn't done.
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he → refer → circles
Having dismissed Chism's highlight reel touchdown and, indeed, having dismissed Chism as a practice squad player, he then trained his commentary on the Patriots' winning accomplishment.
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he → dismiss → accomplishment
They won the game.
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They → win → game
Whatever," CJGJ said.
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CJGJ → say → Whatever
"They ain't do [expletive] better than us.
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They → do → us
We gotta play better.
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We → got → ?
And they can mark that.
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they → mark → that
We'll be back, see them again end of the year.
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We → see → year
"So they can have that same energy and put up what?
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they → have → what
They barely scored.
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They → score → ?
They struggled all game."
Lots
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They → struggle → ?
Because the Bills safety apparently played in a game the rest of us didn't see.
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rest → play → us
If the Patriots struggled to score 29 points and win, what should we say about the Bills, who had fewer first downs, fewer yards, a worse red-zone and goal-to-go efficiency, and had, the biggie, fewer points?
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who → struggle → points
The Patriots also seemed to have a better grasp of the facts.
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Patriots → seem → facts
The wide receiver that Gardner-Johnson kept referring to as an elevated practice squad player joined the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2025 and won a spot on New England's 53-man roster at the start of last season.
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Johnson → keep → season
You know who has been on a practice squad?
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who → know → squad
And this is where the back-and-forth picks up steam because the Patriots became aware of CJGJ's comments about Chism on Monday morning.
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Patriots → pick → morning
Coach Mike Vrabel was asked about it on his weekly day-after appearance on WEEI radio in Boston.
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Vrabel → ask → Boston
"For a guy that has been on eight teams in four years, I mean, I guess he knows the drill," Vrabel said.
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Vrabel → mean → drill
Vrabel was mocking but wasn't necessarily totally accurate, either.
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Vrabel → mock → ?
Since 2021, Gardner-Johnson has been on seven teams, including two different stints with the Philadelphia Eagles.
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Johnson → include → Eagles
The Aporia
