ORCHARD PARK – Quite a night at snowbound Highmark Stadium is on tap as the Buffalo Bills host the San Francisco 49ers in the big television window that is Sunday Night Football.
When this game was slotted into the 2024 NFL schedule, the league was hoping it was going to be a colossal showdown between a pair of Super Bowl contenders. Well, the 49ers haven’t quite held up their end as they come to town with a middling 5-6 record, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a hugely important game as they try to stay close in the NFC playoff chase.
Meanwhile, the Bills have more than held up their end as they come in with a 9-2 record and if they won, they will clinch their fifth consecutive AFC East title, something they have never done. Their previous best run was four straight between 1988-91.
If the Bills pull it off, they will become just the fourth team since division realignment in 2002 to win a division with five or more games remaining. The others on that list are the 2009 Colts, 2007 Patriots and 2004 Eagles, but here’s something interesting: All three of those teams made it to the Super Bowl but then lost.
Stay here all evening for live updates:
Buffalo has won five straight AFC East titles. The Bills cruised to a blowout over the 49ers.
Josh Allen threw two touchdowns, ran for a touchdown and scored a receiving touchdown as Buffalo (10-2) won its seventh straight game.
Mitch Trubisky is in for Josh Allen. Tyler Bass missed a 49-yard field goal wide left.
San Francisco is a disaster. Deebo Samuel fumbled the kickoff after tacking a hit from rookie Cole Bishop, and it was recovered by Buffalo’s Jalen Virgil at the 49ers’ 31-yard line.
Josh Allen has scored a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game. Buffalo capitalized on the fumble recovery with a four-play drive, capped by Allen’s 8-yard scramble.
Brock Purdy attempted a pass but the ball slipped out of his hand on the first play of the fourth quarter. Greg Rousseau recovered the fumble at the 49ers’ 25-yard line.
San Francisco went 48 yards in six plays, with Isaac Guerendo running for a 15-yard touchdown.
Josh Allen recorded two two touchdowns on the same play. Buffalo had first-and-goal at the 49ers 7-yard line. Allen threw a short pass to Amari Cooper who sent a lateral back to Allen. The Bills quarterback dove to the pylon for the touchdown. He’s credited with a passing and receiving touchdown on the play.
San Francisco had the ball for just more than a minute. The 49ers didn’t gain a yard and Pat O’Donnell punted 46 yards. Brandon Codrington returned it 8 yards to the 49ers’ 44-yard line.
James Cook started with two carries totaling 8 yards and Josh Allen threw incomplete on third down. Sam Martin punted 38 yards to the 49ers’ 6-yard line.
San Francisco got to the Buffalo 4-yard line to start the second half and then coughed up the ball. Deebo Samuel took the kickoff 60 yards to the Bills’ 37. Brock Pordy threw to Jauan Jennings for 14 yards and two plays later Jordan Mason ran for 9 yards a first down to set up first-and-goal from the Bills’ 9. Edge rushing Von Miller was flagged for encroachment and on first down, fullback Kyle Juszczyk got a carry and safety Taylor Rapp punched it out. Linebacker Christian Benford picked it up and ran 43 yards to the Bills’ 48.
Both teams have run the ball well but Buffalo has finished drives with touchdowns and San Francisco has settled for making 1 of 3 field goal attempts.
James Cook has nine carries for 100 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown run. Josh Allen has completed 8 of 10 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Brock Purdy went 7 of 9 for 52 yards and Jordan Mason has 62 yards rushing on seven carries. Christian McCaffrey, who left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury, has 53 yards rushing on seven carries.
There were 260 rushing yards in the first half.
San Francisco wasn’t able to come up with points before the end of the half. Brock Purdy completed a 17-yard pass to Jauan Jennings with 4 seconds left in the second quarter. Jake Moody’s 55-yard field goal attempt was short as time expired.
With the snow continuing to fall, and the field slippery and white, the Bills just put together a fantastic nine-play, 97-yard drive that ended with Josh Allen’s seven-yard bullet to the front right pylon to Mack Hollins with 41 seconds left in the half.
Following a 49ers punt, the Bills started at their own 3, and in rapid fashion, Allen threw a 39-yard pass to Dawson Knox, James Cook had runs of 18 and 11 yards, and a pass reception of 13 before facing third and goal when Hollins got open and Allen found him.
The 49ers went 36 yards to the Bills’ 41-yard line but a long field goal is off the table in the snowy conditions. Jordan Mason began the possession with a 28-yard run to the Bills’ 49. San Francisco earned another first down but on third-and-9, Greg Rousseau sacked Brock Purdy for a 5-yard loss. Pat O’Donnell punted 38 yards to the Bills’ 3-yard line.
On the first play after Jake Moody missed a 45-yard field goal, James Cook took a handoff and blew through a massive hole on the right side, broke into the secondary and ran 65 yards untouched for a touchdown.
Cook had gained just four yards on his first three carries and it seemed like Ray Davis would be a better option. Nope. Cook ripped off a career-long run and the Bills have suddenly taken control midway through the second quarter.
Also, the announcement came on McCaffrey. Questionable return with a knee injury.
Jake Moody missed a 45-yard field goal, but the bigger news for San Francisco is that star running back Christian McCaffrey seemed to suffer a leg injury on that drive and is now headed to the locker room.
McCaffrey took a pitch to the right and just as he started to gain traction, he pulled up and just slid to the ground, knowing something was wrong. He went off the field and into the medical tent, and within a minute he was out and going up the tunnel for further treatment. There has been no announcement on what it might be.
The Bills were about to go three and out for the second time, but a third-down holding penalty on the 49ers Charvarius Ward gave them their first first down, and from there the Bills marched 70 yards in 13 plays to Ray Davis’ five-yard TD run.
Along the way the Bills converted four times on third down.
After the Bills went three-and-out on their first possession, the 49ers moved smartly downfield, nine plays and 48 yards to Jake Moody’s 33-yard field goal.
They used a heavy dose of Christian McCaffrey as a runner and receiver as he totaled 29 yards. The snow is falling, the field is slick, and the 49ers look more ready to play than the Bills.
Buffalo received the ball first. Josh Allen started with a completion to Khalil Shakir for no gain and James Cook ran up the middle for 2 yards. Tight end Dawson Knox was flagged for a false start to set up third-and-13 and Ty Johnson took a short pass 9 yards. Sam Martin punted 48 yards and Jacob Cowing returned it 13 yards to the 49ers’ 37-yard line.
The All-Pro linebacker has not played in a game since Oct. 8, 2023 in London when he suffered a broken leg, but he will be on the field Sunday night against the 49ers. What his role will be is unknown, but he will likely play on third down and passing situations.
Milano was on track to return at the start of this season, but he tore a bicep in training camp which cost him the first 11 games.
As was reported earlier, Keon Coleman’s wrist injury will keep him out for a third straight game, and because the Bills did not elevate a wide receiver from the practice squad, they will play the game with Amari Cooper, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins and Curtis Samuel with Jalen Virgil as the fifth man.
The other inactives are tight end Dalton Kincaid, cornerback Kaiir Elam, defensive end Javon Solomon, linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, quarterback Mike White and offensive lineman Will Clapp.
For the 49ers, quarterback Brock Purdy, who was listed as questionable, is active and will start. Their backup, Brandon Allen, is inactive with a finger injury so Josh Dobbs will be their backup.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that wide receiver Keon Coleman is not going to play tonight. We won’t have the Bills’ inactive list until 6:50 p.m., but Coleman was always going to be a question mark, which is why he was listed as questionable on the injury report.
So, the Bills will not have Coleman or starting tight end Dalton Kincaid on offense.
As for linebacker Matt Milano, the Bills activated him from the injured reserve list Saturday, but he is also questionable. It’s not a guarantee that he will play tonight.
My drive from Rochester to Orchard Park was flawless. There was no snow until around the Galleria Mall in Cheektowaga, and then once I got onto the 219, there was a little snow on the road, but not a problem.
And then once I got off 219 and made my way to Abbott Road and then into the parking lot in front of the stadium, while it wasn’t completely cleared, it was more than good enough. Really impressive work done by everyone involved.
Inside the stadium, despite the help of shovelers, the seats are mostly encased in snow. It’s going to be massively cold and uncomfortable, but fans who are coming know this, and have probably done it before.
As for the field, the cover began to come off at around 4:30 as crews continued to use blowers to push the snow, and then it was trucked off as each section of the tarp was removed.
Under that tarp, the turf is clearly icy, and with light snow falling, it may soon be covered in snow again.
The National Weather Service forecast for Orchard Park calls for below-freezing temperatures in the mid 20s and a 77% chance of precipitation by the 8:20 p.m. kickoff, though the percentage will drop during the game. Winds will be out of the west at 11 mph. Snow will be occasional and dropping at about an inch an hour in the 8 p.m. hour, though the likelihood of precipitation will decline.
The AccuWeather forecast anticipates evening temperatures hovering around 30 degrees with snow flurries, but little accumulation, and a declining possibility later. The forecast does call for gusts as strong as 29 mph, which would have more of an effect on the game than the predicted game time precipitation.
The natural inclination would be to say the Bills will have the homefield advantage if the weather is lousy, which it very well might be. I would offer that no matter what they say on camera, the players don’t like playing in snow and cold, and that includes the Bills who have a roster where more than half of the players hail from warm weather states.
But yes, given that they live here and sometimes practice in the cold, the Bills are a little more used to this than the 49ers. I think it’s a small advantage for Buffalo, but it won’t be the determining factor. That will be the fact that the Bills at this stage are the better team, and the 49ers may have a QB playing at less than 100%. The 49ers are a proud team with plenty of stars, but I think the Bills’ pursuit of the AFC East title and the No. 1 seed in the AFC marches on.
Date: Sunday, Dec. 1Time: 8:20 p.m.Place: Highmark FieldBetting line: Bills -7Over-under: 45Money line: Bills minus-300 (bet $300 to win $100) and 49ers plus-240 (bet $100 to win $240).Play-by-play: Mike TiricoAnalyst: Cris CollinsworthSideline reporter: Melissa Stark
∎ Cable/Network TV: NBC. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WHEC channel 10 (Rochester area), WGRZ channel 2 (Buffalo area), WSTM channel 3 (Syracuse area), WKTV channel 2 (Utica area), WETM channel 18 (Elmira area), WNYT channel 13 (Albany area), and WBGH channel 20 (Binghamton area).
∎ Online streaming services: You can watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV – you must watch on your phone or tablet.
∎ TV streaming: You can also stream if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV, fuboTV, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and Peacock.
You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 225 (Bills feed) and channel 226 (49ers feed), and on traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. Chris Brown has the play-by-play, Eric Wood is the analyst, and Sal Capaccio is the sideline reporter. The network includes:
Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM)Buffalo (WGR550, 550 AM)Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5)Binghamton (WDRE 100.5FM)Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM)Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM)Newark (WACK 1420 AM)Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM)Elmira (WNGZ 1490 AM)Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM)Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM)
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social. Sign up for his Bills Blast newsletter here: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
