ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The San Francisco 49ers have gone from a team you fear to a team you toy with.
That’s what happened early in the third quarter Sunday when Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, already up 21-3, threw a red zone pass to Amari Cooper, who, as he was being tackled, pitched the ball backward to the quarterback, who then crashed into the snowy end zone for a 7-yard score.
The official scoring summary read like this: J. Allen 7-yd. pass by J. Allen.
THIS IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING WE HAVE EVER SEEN.
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/LzaOt3MDLj
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 2, 2024
It was a fun, absurd play that caused Highmark Stadium to erupt with joy — and launched snowballs — and one that’s bound to be the most-replayed sequence of Buffalo’s 35-10 win.
It was a perfect example of a team that looked like a true contender. Coming out of their bye, the Bills were rested, powerful and having a good time.
The 49ers? That’s what they used to look like. A year ago, they were the confident juggernaut that rolled over opponents on their way to a December division title and ultimately the top seed in the NFC.
These days, they are merely the foil for better squads. The Bills’ victory, their 10th of the season, allowed them to wrap up the AFC East.
“For the last couple of years, our mentality has been coming out in games and being the enforcers and the dominators,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “To have two games like this back-to-back late in the season — it sucks.”
Instead of their 2023 selves, the 49ers have become reminiscent of the snakebit 2020 squad, one that was coming off a Super Bowl loss and that floundered early on due to injuries. The current team has managed to stave off the comparison for the first three months of the season because, though they’ve lost several key players to injury, the squad was so chock-full of talent that it was able to stay afloat in the middling NFC West.
In the last two weeks, however, the injuries have mounted and the 49ers haven’t even been able to tread water anymore.
Their 2020-like buzzard’s luck began at kickoff on Sunday. Though it had snowed in Orchard Park over the last two days, it had dissipated to light snow in the hours before the game and crews had largely cleared the field.
As the game got underway, however, the storm suddenly intensified, and it got worse as the contest went on.
“It was a very sticky, heavy snow,” tight end George Kittle said. “I think you guys saw it — everyone was clicking their heels like Dorothy out there the entire game. It’s one of the weirder environments I’ve ever played in.”
Early on, it looked like the 49ers might be able to keep pace with their powerful opponent via a ground attack that didn’t bother with the outside zone runs it usually relies on but instead attacked the Bills up the middle.
Christian McCaffrey, who’d said after recent outings that he had yet to hit full speed after returning from an Achilles injury at midseason, appeared to finally find that missing gear. He had his two longest runs of the season — 18 and 19 yards — and already had 53 yards at the beginning of the second quarter.
But on one of those long runs, he was tripped up and fell hard on his knee. The next time he got the ball, something wasn’t right and he dropped to the ground untouched, then limped to the sideline. Kyle Shanahan said the initial diagnosis was a PCL sprain, something that would cost the running back “a couple of weeks” and perhaps the rest of the season.
“Yeah, it was frustrating,” Shanahan said of losing McCaffrey. “He had a great week of practice and I could feel his urgency and stuff. He came out great, looking real good. It looked like he just got a shoe-string (tackle) there, he was about to break a house call. I’m guessing he got hurt on that play — I don’t know, I never got to talk to him. But it hurt for him and was tough for our team not having him.”
Even without McCaffrey, the 49ers steadily moved the ball on the ground and finished with a respectable 153 rushing yards. But while the Bills were able to convert their long drives into touchdowns, the 49ers crossed into Buffalo territory six times on Sunday but came away with only 10 points.
Two of those drives ended in Jake Moody missed field goals, one from 45 yards and another from 55. Another drive ended at the 1-yard line when fullback Kyle Juszczyk fumbled and the Bills returned it 43 yards.
Goal line stand. 😤
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/hJ0qQi4W51
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 2, 2024
The 49ers, who had trouble keeping their feet in mild conditions in Green Bay last week, had all sorts of issues with the snow.
Purdy fumbled at the beginning of the fourth quarter while Deebo Samuel Sr. fumbled a kickoff the next time the 49ers got the ball back.
Purdy finished with only 94 passing yards, a career low for the regular season. That was obviously due to the run-heavy game plan and the lake-effect snow that thickened throughout the game. But as was the case in Green Bay, the opponent seemed to handle the conditions far better than the 49ers.
One sequence saw Jauan Jennings drop a pass on second down and Kittle bobble — and ultimately drop — a screen pass on third down. Receiver Ricky Pearsall, who grew up in Arizona and played college there and in Florida, obviously wasn’t accustomed to the snow. He slipped badly on one play and for the third straight game finished without a reception.
Afterward, the 49ers said they were surprised by how badly the weather deteriorated but wouldn’t use that as an excuse.
“At the end of the day, they played on the same field we played on,” Samuel said.
As was the case with the loss to the Packers, the 49ers noted that they’re still in the division hunt and that they can get hot at any point. The problem is that they only seem to grow colder with every outing, and more alarming, lose another key starter every week.
“We’re not the same team — at all,” Shanahan said when asked if this year’s squad has the same fight as last year’s. “Every team each year is different. There’s still a lot of season left and we expect to play better.”
(Top photo of Josh Allen getting past Fred Warner for a touchdown: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)
