Patriots beat Bills 29-26 on late Chism one-handed touchdown catch

Right · 2The New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 29-26 on Sunday 4 October 2026. 1 2 Right · 2Efton Chism III made a one-handed touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter that put the Patriots ahead 27-26. IJR describes it as a 23-yard catch and says the Patriots converted the two-point attempt to make it 29-26; Fox News describes it as a 19-yard catch. 1 2 Right · 1Fox News says Chism made the catch with a defender draped all over him in the end zone, and that Chism caught only two passes from quarterback Drake Maye in the game. 2

Right · 2Safety Craig Woodson intercepted Bills quarterback Josh Allen to seal the win. 1 2 Right · 2Maye went 22-for-37 for 269 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and Romeo Doubs had six catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns. 1 2 Right · 1IJR reports that the Patriots played without Christian Gonzalez, Christian Barmore and A.J. Brown and held Dalton Kincaid to one catch for seven yards. 1

Right · 2The win moved New England to 2-2 after a 35-6 loss to Jacksonville the previous week, while Buffalo fell to 3-1, its first loss of the season. 1 2 Right · 1Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said Maye was extremely prepared and focused, that there was a lot to correct, and that he appreciated how the team competed against a good veteran team, adding that the win gets them back in the race. 1 Right · 1Per ESPN Insights, cited by IJR, Maye is the first Patriots quarterback with seven interceptions in the first four games since Tom Brady in 2003; IJR says the interception came on a pass that slipped through Doubs' hands. 1

Right · 1After the game, Bills cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson dismissed Chism's catch, saying, "Probably won't hear from him again, respectfully," and "They didn't do s--t better than us. We gotta play better." Fox News reports that Gardner-Johnson called Chism an "elevated guy", which it reads as implying Chism had been called up from the practice squad, and notes Chism has been on the 53-man roster since the regular season began. 2 Right · 1Chism, per Yahoo Sports as quoted by Fox News, said, "When I am out there, and the ball's in the air, I kind of black out," and described being in a "flow state". 2