Bills clinch AFC East with dominate victory over 49ers

ORCHARD PARK, NY (WHEC) – The Buffalo Bills blow out the San Francisco 49ers 35-10.

Josh Allen threw a touchdown, caught a touchdown and ran a touchdown in a dominate showing on Sunday Night Football.

STATS

Josh Allen: 13/17, 148 yards, 2 passing TDs, rushing TD, receiving TD

James Cook: 14 carries for 107 yards, TD

Ray Davis: 11 carries for 63 yards, TD

Khalil Shakir: four catches for 30 yards

DRIVE-BY-DRIVE BREAKDOWN

FOURTH QUARTER

-Bills kneel it out for 35-10 win.

-Niners punt after a three-and-out

-The 49ers fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Buffalo followed that up with a missed 45-yard field goal.

-Josh Allen scores his fourth touchdown of the game on an eight-yard scamper to five the Bills a 35-10 lead.

-On the first play of the fourth quarter, Brock Purdy fumbled the ball and the Greg Rousseau recovered as Buffalo took over at San Francisco’s 25-yard line.

END OF THIRD QUARTER, BILLS LEAD 28-10

-The Bills were forced to punt after three plays, 49ers take over at their own 23-yard line.

-Deebo Samuel took the ensuing kickoff 42 yards into Bills territory and San Francisco capitalized, driving 48 yards on six plays before a 15-yard touchdown run. Bills lead 28-10.

-On one of the wilder plays you’ll ever see. Josh Allen found Amari Cooper who lateraled back to Allen for a touchdown and a 28-3 lead with 5:58 left in the third quarter. Watch that play here.

-The Bills forced the 49ers’ first three-and-out of the game as Buffalo took over in San Francisco territory with 9:03 left in the third.

-The Bills were unable to capitalize off of a short field and were forced to punt after three offensive plays. SF takes over at its own six-yard line with 10:10 left in the third.

-The 49ers began the second half with the ball, matching down inside the Bills’ five-yard line before Kyle Juszcyk fumbled the ball and Bills safety Taylor Rapp picked up the ball and returned it to midfield. Buffalo takes over leading 21-3 with 11:45 left in the third quarter.

HALFTIME STATS

BUFFALO

Josh Allen: 8/10, 97 passing yards, TD, 10 rushing yards

James Cook: nine carries for 100 yards, TD

Dawson Knox: one catch, 39 yards

SAN FRANCISCO

Brock Purdy: 7/9, 52 passing yards, four rushing yards

Jordan Mason: seven carries, 62 yards

Christian McCaffery: seven carries, 53 yards

HALFTIME, BILLS LEAD 21-3

-The 49ers ended the first half with the ball, picking up 17 yards on a throw to Jajuan Jennings before Moody missed his second field goal of the game.

-On 3rd & Goal, Josh Allen took the snap and strolled out to his right before firing a dot to Mack Hollins right near the sideline. Hollins hauled it in and got both feet down for the seven-yard touchdown. Bills extend the lead to 21-3 with 41 seconds left in the first half.

-James Cook fired off an 11-yard run to get the Bills in San Francisco territory followed by another first down run that brought Buffalo to the opposing 27-yard line. Josh Allen completed just his sixth pass of the day on a slant to Amari Cooper. The Bills then took their first timeout with 1:07 left in the second quarter. The Bills picked up the fourth first down of the drive with a dropoff pass to James Cook.

-Starting at their own three-yard line, the Bills found Dawson Knox on 2nd & 8 for a gain of 39 yards before the two-minute warning.

-The 49ers went 36 yards on seven plays, but a Greg Rousseau sack on third down forced a punt. Bills take over at their own three-yard line with 3:31 left in the first half.

-On the Bills’ first play of their third drive, James Cook took a ball 65 yards for a home run play and his career best. Bills lead 14-3. Watch the touchdown run here.

-On 3rd & 14, the 49ers ran the ball for six yards to face a 4th & 8. This time, Jake Moody missed a 45-yarder wide left. Bills get the ball back with 8:48 left in the half up 7-3.

-Christian McCaffery took a pitch play before going down without being touched five yards in the backfield. He ran off the field under his own power.

-San Francisco begins the second quarter with the ball. A pair of Christian McCaffery runs went for 30 yards before a Jordan Mason run lost the Niners four yards. On 2nd & 14, the Bills flushed Brock Purdy out to his left before the SF quarterback threw the ball up and it was intercepted by Damar Hamlin. The play was called back for an Illegal Contact penalty and San Francisco retained possession with 11:33 left in the first half.

END OF FIRST QUARTER, BILLS LEADS 7-3

-The Bills next offensive series quickly faced another 3rd & long but an Illegal Contact penalty handed Buffalo their first first down of the game. The Bills capitalized off of the penalty and marched down the field thanks to a Quinton Morris 15-yard reception and a Ray Davis run for 13 yards. Davis capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown to give the Bills a 7-3 lead with three seconds left in the first quarter.

-San Francisco’s first offensive drive of the game started with a Brock Purdy pass to Greg Kittle followed by six-straight runs that amassed 40 yards before the 49ers faced a 3rd & 7. Purdy fired toward Christian McCaffrey, but the SF running back didn’t see the ball and the Niners were forced to kick a 33-yard field goal which Jake Moody made to make it 3-0 San Francisco.

-The Bills opened the game with back-to-back runs of minimal gains before a false start pushed them back to 3rd & 13. Josh Allen found Ty Johnson for a gain of 10 before Sam Martin punted for the first time in the game.

-The 49ers won the coin flip and deferred. Bills received opening kickoff.

-Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 pm.

GAME PREVIEW

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bills are winners of six straight and welcome in last year’s Super Bowl runner-up, the San Francisco 49ers.

Buffalo Bills gameday basics:
Teams: Buffalo Bills (9-2) and San Francisco 49ers (5-6)

Kickoff: 8:20, Sunday

Location: Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, N.Y.)

Network: NBC

What’s at stake?
The Bills would clinch their fifth-straight AFC East Championship with a win over San Francisco. A win would also give them their 10th victory of the season for the sixth straight season.

With the Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) winning on Friday, the Bills can remain half a game back of their AFC West counterpart for first place in the AFC with a win on Sunday

The 49ers are in the NFC West and sit at 5-6 and in last place of their division, just one season after making it to the Super Bowl. A win would get the Niners back to .500 on the season and keep them in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt.

Buffalo Bills player to watch: Matt Milano
The Bills All-Pro linebacker was activated off the Injured Reserve on Saturday, clearing a potential return for Saturday’s game. He is still listed as questionable, but if he does play, it would be his first regular-season action since week five of last season.

For more on Milano’s return here.

Snowy conditions

The Bills are expecting ever-changing snow and wind for Sunday’s game. So much so that they paid fans to help shovel the stadium on Sunday morning. More information here.

Injury update

The Bills activated Milano and elevated quarterback Mike White and tight end Zach Davidson from the practice squad while contrasting defensive tackle DeWayne Carter. Tight end Dalton Kincaid will not play. Wide Receiver Keon Coleman is listed as questionable.

For the 49ers, they’ll be without All-Pros Nick Bosa on the defensive line and Trent Williams on the offensive line. Quarterback Brock Purdy missed last week’s game against Green Bay but is expected to return.