Before the Patriots took on the Bills in Week 4, the overwhelming feeling was that the undefeated home team would wipe the floor with its biggest divisional foe, mostly because the Patriots had struggled mightily, starting with their quarterback.
Drake Maye badly needed a bounce-back game to quiet the noise, but it wasn't expected to happen against the Bills, who hoped to keep their undefeated streak, especially in their new stadium, going.
Unfortunately for them, Maye is not afraid of the Bills, especially on the road, and went into Highmark Stadium to steal another win, just as he did last season, and as we saw, he accomplished that with a lot of help from the most unlikely players on the roster.
Perhaps the most shocking of all was Efton Chism racking up two big-time throws, one of which was a one-handed touchdown that quickly became the catch of the week. It put him on the map on a bigger scale, since most Patriots fans already knew who he was, and it caught the attention of a few New England legends, most notably Julian Edelman, whom Chism has often been compared to.
The former receiver appeared to give his stamp of approval with a simple post on Twitter/X, prompting a deeper conversation about Chism on a new epsiode of the Gronk & Jules show this week.
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) October 4, 2026
READ MORE: Bills prove to be sore losers after overlooking Patriots in pivotal Week 4 matchup
Efton Chism's Week 4 performance is gaining a lot of attention
It's inevitable now that Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman have a dual podcast to discuss all things NFL, where they can talk about how the Patriots looked and give a shoutout to a player like Chism.
That's exactly what they did this past week, with Edelman putting it plainly: “Chism wasn’t known before [Sunday], but it’s a play like that starts someone’s career potentially. That’s awesome to see.”
Gronkowski shared that sentiment, noting that Chism is consistently compared to Edelman and Danny Amendola, which he doesn't believe is accurate. However, he does feel he had an impressive game against the Bills on Sunday and wants to see what he can do for the rest of the season.
“He stepped up in a huge way. Julian, there’s so many people after that catch being like, ‘is that Edelman out there?’ I heard the room say that, a couple people. That ain’t no Edelman.
Efton Chism, I think, had negative one-yard going into this game, and he played lights out with the opportunity that he got. I think he had another big catch as well. That’s how you win games and become a complete team when a guy like Efton Chism, who hasn’t even been playing this year, he’s a special teamer – comes in with a huge one-handed grab to win the game.”
That's quite an endorsement for a young player.
Chism is now in a position to get more opportunities on game day, and he'll need to take advantage of those moments and deliver in a big way. It doesn't always need to be big catches for a lot of yards or a one-handed touchdown.
But he will need to show he can be consistent and reliable, something the receiving corps hasn't necessarily been so far this season, and that will make a huge difference. Earning Drake Maye's trust could take him far, especially with A.J. Brown still on the shelf and Mack Hollins now potentially missing time.
It's Chism's opportunity to lose at this point, so we'll have to see what the Patriots have planned for him and whether he can continue the momentum for the rest of the season.
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