The 49ers have been struggling for much of the season, but they had no shot in the snow on Sunday night in Western New York.
Buffalo trounced San Francisco 35-10, taking advantage of the wintery conditions to power their way through the squad from California and clinch the AFC East.
While the 49ers scored first, the Bills put up four straight touchdowns to go up 28-3 midway through the third quarter. Isaac Guerendo put San Francisco in the end zone with a 15-yard touchdown late in the period.
But Josh Allen continued his potential MVP campaign with an 8-yard run in the fourth, putting Buffalo up by 25.
In the third quarter, Allen became the fourth player in league history to record a passing touchdown and receiving touchdown on the same play. Allen had tossed a short pass to Amari Cooper, who lateraled it back to Allen before going down. Allen darted the corner of the end zone, diving to put the ball on the pylon for the TD.
Allen was officially credited for both a passing and receiving touchdown on the play.
Up by a significant margin, the Bills put in Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback with 12:22 left in the fourth quarter. Allen ended his day 13-of-17 for 148 yards with two touchdowns, three carries for 18 yards with a TD, plus 7 receiving yards with a receiving touchdown.
James Cook helped pace the offense with 107 yards on 14 carries, including a 65-yard touchdown run. That was Buffalo’s longest run since 2016.
On the other side, the biggest concern is running back Christian McCaffrey, who exited the game in the second quarter with a knee injury and did not return. McCaffrey, of course, missed the first eight games of the season with bilateral Achilles tendinitis.
But the 49ers looked uncomfortable in the conditions from the start, with players slipping in the snow on offense and defense. The club also fumbled three times, losing all of them.
McCaffrey was averaging 7.6 yards per carry on his seven attempts before leaving the game, but the club could not do much in the passing game. Brock Purdy — who was questionable with a right shoulder injury — was 11-of-18 for just 94 yards. Jordan Mason picked up 78 yards on 13 carries.
With the win, the 10-2 Bills have now won five consecutive AFC East titles. They are the second AFC team to clinch a playoff spot after the Chiefs did so earlier in the week. Currently one game behind Kansas City for the AFC’s top seed, Buffalo will be in Los Angeles next weekend to take on the Rams.
After defrosting on their way back to the Bay Area, the 5-7 49ers will take on the 4-8 Bears at home next weekend.
