ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Patriots wide receiver Efton Chism ticked off the right people when he made the play of the season, hauling in a one-armed [game-winning touchdown catch](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/10/04/best-and-worst-what-we-learned-in-patriots-29-26-season-altering-win-over-bills/) from quarterback Drake Maye.
Chism wasn’t even supposed to be on the field for the play, and he didn’t practice it during the week. But after Mack Hollins went down with a calf injury, Chism was called on and stepped up in the game’s biggest moments.
“When I’m out there and the ball’s in here, I kind of black out. I’m kind of in that little flow state,” Chism said Sunday. “I saw it there. Drake gave me an opportunity, and you got to come down with those opportunities. I don’t know how many you get, so I’m just trying to take advantage of all of them.”
Just three plays prior, with the Patriots trailing 26-21, Chism elevated over the middle of the field for a 19-yard catch from Maye over Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston to get the Patriots to Buffalo’s 28-yard line. After a 5-yard run and an incomplete pass, Maye targeted Chism deep down the right sideline.
Chism reached out his right arm and pulled in the ball for the Patriots to take a 29-26 lead.
Wide receiver Romeo Doubs called it the “snag of the year.”
“Nobody works harder. I mean, plenty of guys work hard, but I mean, Chiz is literally in (wide receivers coach) Todd Downing’s office before 6 o’clock every morning, if not 5:30. Getting the game plan down to know every position. He’s an extremely hard worker. His toughness, his routine, and it’s really cool to see guys like that take advantage of their opportunities, and obviously stepping up in a critical situation is what this league is about.”
Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson disparaged Chism after the game, saying, “A (practice squad) guy made a helluva catch. Probably won’t happen to him again, respectfully.”
Chism, for the record, is on the 53-man roster and [has never been on](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/07/31/what-efton-chism-is-doing-to-not-get-left-behind-in-patriots-wr-competition/) an NFL practice squad. He made the Patriots’ 53-man roster out of training camp in 2025 and 2026. Gardner-Johnson, an eighth-year NFL vet, was on the Ravens’ practice squad for a week last season before being cut.
“The world may be put on the scene for Chiz, but you guys see it for two years now in training camp,” Maye said Sunday. “He just keeps on doing the right thing, and stays after every day in practice. ‘Hey Drake, you need anything? Hey, I’m here.’ There’s guys late in the building that I see late at night, and it’s Chiz, and he loves this game, and you get what you put into it. And I think you saw that with Chiz.”
Chism could see more playing time this season, especially if Hollins is forced to miss action with his hamstring injury.
Chism finished fourth on the team with 42 yards in a game in which Maye spread the ball around.