Before the 2024 NFL season, Sunday night's Week 13 matchup between the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers might've been tabbed a potential Super Bowl preview. Only one of the prime-time foes looked the part, however: As the 49ers weathered yet another injury to a key name, losing star running back Christian McCaffrey to a non-contact knee injury, the Bills galloped through the snow, leaning on Josh Allen acrobatics, James Cook sprints and a suffocating defensive effort to claim a 35-10 victory. The victory wrapped up a fifth straight AFC East crown with five weeks to go.
Fans were warned about traveling to Highmark Stadium due to heavy snowfall, but the 49ers may have been just as well-served heeding the advice. Already down Pro Bowlers in Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco had Brock Purdy back under center after the quarterback missed Week 12 with a shoulder issue, but that didn't stop Sean McDermott's "D" from delivering a slew of punishing hits down the stretch, including two that forced fumbles by San Francisco in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo also got another MVP-caliber effort from Allen, who had one of the most unlikely touchdowns of the year, throwing a red zone pass to Amari Cooper, then hauling in a lateral from Cooper to run it in himself.
Here are some takeaways from Sunday night's rout:
James Cook deserves some consideration for a 65-yard burst of a touchdown that put Buffalo up two scores in the second quarter, but Allen's awareness made him the highlight-reel star of the day on his successful score off the lateral from Cooper, earning credit for two touchdowns on a single play:
Consider what transpired before Buffalo even kicked off on Sunday night: The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs improved to 11-1, but only thanks to a last-second blunder by the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, who became the second straight non-playoff team to nearly upset Patrick Mahomes and Co. And the Baltimore Ravens, with MVP candidate Lamar Jackson, managed just 12 points against the Philadelphia Eagles until garbage time of their second loss in three weeks. Throw in the fact the Bills already beat the Chiefs this year, and the fact Buffalo manhandled the 49ers in inclement weather, and it's not outrageous to suggest Josh Allen's squad is the new team to beat in the conference.
Never say never in the NFL. But the war of attrition has struck San Francisco especially hard, just as it's done in the other iffy seasons on coach Kyle Shanahan's resume. Losing Christian McCaffrey (again) isn't necessarily a death knell, as Jordan Mason is a capable workhorse. Losing him on a night where no one other than Jauan Jennings could get reasonably open downfield, or no one along the defensive front could clog a rushing lane or sniff any of Buffalo's weapons in space, suggests this really might not be their year. Even in a generally underwhelming division, the 49ers are now two games below .500 with matchups against the Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions remaining. It's all but a wrap.
The Bills (10-2) will hit the road for a matchup with the Rams (6-6), who overcame a rough start against the New Orleans Saints to claim their fifth win of the last seven weeks. The 49ers (5-7), now two games behind the NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks, will return home to host the Chicago Bears (4-8), who dismissed coach Matt Eberflus following a Thanksgiving loss to the Lions.
The Bills will move to 10-2. They will clinch the AFC East and remain one game behind the Chiefs for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The have the tiebreaker over Kansas City, so they only need to match the Chiefs in record, not get a full game ahead.
The 49ers will drop to 5-7. Their only hope of making the playoffs is likely to come from behind and win the NFC West. They have their work cut out for them.
The 49ers did not bring in their backups, and then for some reason barely tried to gain any actual yards. And then they punted. If you were planning to punt if you faced fourth down, why did you even leave the starters out there? It was never close, but this was a very poorly-managed game from start to finish for Kyle Shanahan.
The Bills brought their backups in for the most recent drive. Three runs and a field goal, which missed. The Niners need three touchdowns, at least one two-point conversion, plus another score, in order to even think about tying or winning this game.
This is just a (sorry for this) snowballing of mistakes on top of mistakes for the 49ers.
Classic Josh Allen stuff on this scramble touchdown. Bounced around in the pocket for a while, then found himself a rushing lane by weaving through the pocket. And then he just out-ran Fred Warner to the end zone. Instead of a two-score game, it's now 35-10 Bills. He now has a passing TD, receiving TD and rushing TD.
The hits just keep on coming for the 49ers. A chance to cut this to a two-score game and Brock Purdy just straight-up drops the ball while trying to make a third-down throw. Yikes.
The 49ers had their best drive of the game and finally cut just a little bit into this Bills lead. They capped it a touchdown for rookie RB Isaac Guerendo on a swing pass. The big play on the drive was a fourth-down conversion by -- who else -- Jauan Jennings. It's a 28-10 ballgame.
Folks, that was incredible! Amari Cooper with one of the best improvisatory plays of the season, flipping the ball back to Josh Allen while being tackled by three 49ers. And Allen went all Superman dive on his way to the end zone. Amazing.
Oof... the 49ers were a few yards away from finding the end zone and Kyle Juszczyk just fumbled the ball at the goal line. Christian Benford scooped it up and returned it all the way to 49ers territory. Taylor Rapp knocked the ball out of Juszczyk's hands. Buffalo has a chance to essentially put this game away here.
Kyle Shanahan says Christian McCaffrey will not return after suffering a knee injury in the first half.
Huge kick return for Deebo Samuel to open the second half. They'll start their first possession inside Buffalo territory. They absolutely need to score a touchdown here.
The 49ers badly mismanaged the clock at the end of the half there, wasting a bunch of time before spiking the ball instead of using their timeout so they had more chances to move the ball down the field and create an easier field goal for Jake Moody. His 55-yard attempt came up well short -- his second miss of the game.
Mack Hollins extends Buffalo's lead with a leaping catch at the front of the end zone. 97-yard touchdown drive for the Bills, ending with Hollins using his body to shield Charvarius Ward away from the ball and get the score. It's 21-3 Bills.
James Cook has 8-100-1 on the ground and 1-13 through the air. He has over 80% of Buffalo's total yards.
The Niners drove into something resembling scoring range and the Bills ended that thread with back-to-back sacks on second and third down. Von Miller got to Brock Purdy late in the down the first time, and Greg Rousseau chased him outside the pocket for the second one to force a punt.
Immediately after the Moody miss, James Cook breaks through the right side of the Buffalo offensive line, finds himself open in space, and hits the gas pedal all the way to the end zone. That's a 65-yard touchdown run to make this a 14-3 Bills lead.
The 49ers got backed up into second-and-20, then ran the ball on third-and-14 to set up a shorter field goal. That ended up being a mistake in these conditions, as Jake Moody hooked the kick wide to the left. Buffalo takes over at the 35-yard line.
Christian McCaffrey took a pitch from Brock Purdy and slid to the ground without being contacted. He limp-jogged off the field and went right into the medical tent. Really, really not good for a 49ers team whose season is already on the brink.
Update: McCaffrey is now headed to the locker room. The 49ers say it's a knee injury and he is QUESTIONABLE to return.
Damar Hamlin gets an interception but with a flag down the field it seems likely to be coming back. Rough break for Buffalo there.
The rookie running back hasn't been too involved in the offense this season (69 carries coming into this game) but he's put the Bills in the lead here late in the first quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run. 13 plays (10 runs), 70 yards, 7:38 off the clock on that Buffalo drive. It's a 7-3 Bills lead at the end of one period.
Josh Allen is just so powerful as a runner. Haven't seen a QB run quite like that since Cam Newton.
Stop me if you've heard this before. San Francisco drove into the red zone and then stalled out. One of the league's best red-zone offenses over the last few years, the 49ers have been dreadful there this season. They've convert just 50% of their red-zone trips into touchdowns, a rate that ranks tied for 25th in the NFL. It's a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
That was Christian McCaffrey's longest run of the season. He had been loaded up with touches in his first few games but had yet to break a long run. That 20-yard gain is a good sign for San Francisco.
Also of note: Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa working against a backup tackle on the left side of the San Francisco offensive line (Jaylon Moore) and one of the weaker links up front on the right side (Colton McKivitz).
One area to watch tonight is the 49ers' slot CB. Deommodore Lenoir is out, and without both Dalton Kincaid and Keon Coleman, a lot of Buffalo's passing game will flow through Khalil Shakir in the slot.
Several big absences for San Francisco, including Trent Williams, Nick Bosa and Deommodore Lenoir. Brock Purdy is back, though.
As expected, no Keon Coleman or Dalton Kincaid for Buffalo. Josh Allen will be a bit shorthanded among the pass-catching corps again.
