The Patriots were undoubtedly the underdogs going into their road game against the Bills on Sunday, not only because they had played so poorly over the first three weeks of the season, but also because Josh Allen was leading an early MVP campaign, and they were hoping to continue their undefeated streak with a win in their new stadium.
That had almost everyone, other than perhaps the most optimistic Patriots fans, believing a Bills win was inevitable, especially as more injuries piled up for New England. So seeing Drake Maye outplay Allen and the Patriots escape Buffalo with the win shocked everyone, especially those who didn't take the loss so well.
Losing is never easy, and when a divisional rival beats you on your home turf, it's even tougher to swallow.
The Bills had a few players who showed poor sportsmanship after Sunday's loss, voicing heavy negativity about the Patriots' performance and even storming out of the locker room before speaking to reporters.
The Bills did not take their loss to the Patriots all that well
The first of the sore losers was Max Hairston, who was dominated by Romeo Doubs for much of the game. The wide receiver had his breakthrough on Sunday, recording 6 receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a highlight reel-worthy one-handed catch.
The cornerback reportedly stormed out of the locker room after the loss and refused to be interviewed as he was scheduled to, presumably upset about his performance against a team he likely overlooked, especially Doubs, who hasn't played like a superstar so far.
Then came the response from cornerback CJ Gardner-Johnson, who only tried to downplay the significance of the Patriots getting another win against a high-powered Bills team in Buffalo, but he also disrespected Efton Chism by referring to him as a "practice squad player" and claiming the Patriots don't do anything better than they do.
Except, the Patriots won on Sunday and the Bills didn't.
Bills CB CJ Gardner-Johnson on the loss to the #Patriots:
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) October 4, 2026
“An elevated guy made a hell of a catch. Probably won’t hear from him again. Respectfully.”
“A practice squad player made a hell of a play.”
“They ain’t do s**t better than us.” pic.twitter.com/MBP1LpBjfA
What makes his quotes even more embarrassing is that Chism wasn't on the practice squad last year or this year; he's on the 53-man roster, but Gardner-Johnson has spent time on a practice squad during his career.
So he probably shouldn't speak down on players who may have spent time there before getting a starting gig with a team.
And even if Chism had been a game-day elevation, that doesn't take away from the incredible play he made for a touchdown. His one-handed catch is arguably the play of the week, and just because the Bills are bitter about losing to a player they might not have heard of before doesn't mean they should disrespect him the way Gardner-Johnson did.
Maybe they should have done more research on the Patriots' roster and prepared for everything they could offensively before Sunday's game. If they had, they would have known what kind of performer Chism could be, instead of tearing him down to feel better about the loss.
That just proves even more that the Patriots did a good job on Sunday, and the Bills were reminded that the AFC East is no longer theirs to run.
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