To start the NFL season, the New England Patriots offense has looked nothing like the unit that made the Super Bowl last year. In Week 4, though, that changed as the Patriots improved to 2-2 after a huge 29-26 win against the Buffalo Bills (giving them their first loss in the new stadium).
Drake Maye easily had his best game, looking like the MVP runner-up we saw last season. New England's offense was clicking for most of the game, scoring a season-high in points.
One of the bright spots of the game was the play of second-year receiver Efton Chism III. While Chism only had two catches for 42 yards, they couldn't have happened at bigger moments. Both of them came on the Patriots' game-winning drive.
Chism's first reception was a contested catch for 19 yards that got the Patriots inside Buffalo's 30-yard line. The second catch was the game-winning score, with Chism making an unbelievable one-handed catch (with his other arm being held) to give New England the lead.
Going into Week 5, after making these two big catches, Chism should see an increased role for the Patriots' offense.
Efton Chism should see increased role with Patriots in Week 5
It's been a disappointing start for the Patriots' wide receivers this year. After making a big trade for A.J. Brown, he went down with an injury in the opener against the Seattle Seahawks. Mack Hollins has been solid to start the year but left the game against the Bills with a calf injury. That leaves the Patriots with four of the six receivers they began the year with.
Of those four, Romeo Doubs has had the best impact, but has been far from perfect. DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams haven't made much of an impact either. So with Chism's coming up clutch for the Patriots, they should reward him with an increased role in Week 5.
Brown will be out in Week 5, and given the injury to Hollins today, I'm not confident that he'll be available either. Given the injuries, this is the perfect time to see if Chism can replicate his performance against the Bills. New England will need to find someone in the receiving room to help the offense while Brown and Hollins are out.
With his play today, Chism has earned the right to be given a larger role in the offense, even if it's only until the Patriots' receiving room gets healthy. The Washington native showed some flashes last year in his limited playing time and once again impressed today. While I don't expect Chism to continue making these highlight plays, he could become a serviceable receiver in the league.
This win against the Bills was much needed for the Patriots and can hopefully spark a season turnaround like last season's win against the Bills did. Being able to build off this offensive momentum is a must for the Patriots if they want to keep winning games. Increasing Chism's role in the offense could help the offense stay hot.
Add us as a preferred source on Google