Top 3 Things We Learned

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Top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. 49ers | Week 13

Dec 02, 2024 at 03:00 AM

Alec White

Content Coordinator

The Buffalo Bills clinched the AFC East division title with a dominant 35-10 win over the 49ers on Sunday Night Football.

Buffalo (10-2) is heading to the postseason for the sixth consecutive season.

Here's what we learned from Bills vs. 49ers:

1 — Snow game? No problem for Bills run unit

Under snowy conditions, the Bills had a stellar rushing attack Sunday night, racking up 220 yards on the ground and accounting for 60% for their total offense in a division-clinching victory over San Francisco.

RB James Cook paved the way with a team-high 101 yards, including a career-high 65-yard TD in the first half. Rookie RB Ray Davis pitched in with 63 yards and a first quarter TD. Of course, QB Josh Allen joined the party as well with his sixth rushing TD of the season.

"With the snowfall I mean, after the first couple drives everybody kind of knew it was going to be a running the ball game. Jimmy (James Cook), Ray and Ty did a good job and had explosive plays," said. right tackle Spencer Brown.

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Orchard Park received 24 inches of snow in the 36 hours before game time and that total grew as the game kicked off. Knowing they'd have to battle the elements all game, Buffalo turned to one of their offensive staples often in the first half and brought in sixth offensive lineman OL Alec Anderson on 38.5% of the first half plays.

With Anderson on the field, Buffalo gained 110 rush yards in the first half — the most by any team this season with six OL on the field. Cook's 65-yard TD, Davis' first quarter TD and another 18-yard run by Cook are just a few of the plays that happened when Anderson came in.

"Alec just brings a nasty mentality and just consistency throughout the run game. Helps tighten that a lot so they don't get those backside blocks. But he's a finisher, he's a tone setter, and he does his job," Brown said.

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It has been a night for the offensive linemen.#NextGenStats powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/qhd0m6GDEF
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 2, 2024

Cook's 65-yarder in the second quarter came one play after 49ers kicker Jake Moody missed a 45-yard field goal. The third-year RB reached a career-high 21.85 mph during his snow dash to the end zone, the 7th-fastest speed by a ball carrier in the NFL this season.

"Offensively, to be able to run that football the way we did, like you said, when they knew we were going to run it because of the conditions in particular, I thought James's run was huge in terms of opening it up, really," Bills head coach Sean McDermott said.

2 — You have to see it to believe it

Keeping with the holiday spirit, Josh Allen and Amari Cooper gave the football world a gift with their improvised, hold-your-breath lateral for a touchdown.

A play that was just supposed to be a routine slant to Cooper turned into a remarkable, play-it-on-loop TD after the receiver lateralled the ball back to Allen and the QB dove head first, extending the ball across the pylon.

The NFL officially credited Allen with both a passing and receiving score, making him the first QB in league history with a passing, rushing and receiving TD in the same game.

"I just kind of chased the ball just to be there. And we made eye contact and he just pitched it and I had to go make a play. It was dope," Allen said.

According to Next Gen Stats, Allen accelerated from 9.70 mph to 16.61 mph in 1.8 seconds to beat 49ers linebacker Dee Winters to the pylon for the touchdown. Allen is the first QB in NFL history to record a passing, receiving and rushing touchdown in the same game.

These are just a few of the reactions:

Sean McDermott: "I've never seen that at practice. I've never seen that before. What are we doing? Like, where'd that come from? And, you know, those are just two great athletes out there having fun in the snow."

Taylor Rapp: "We couldn't even believe our eyes, like I've never seen anything like it."

Rasul Douglas: "I had to ask if that was the play? I'm like 'what y'all doing out there, y'all just do anything, huh?' But when it works, it works."

Amari Cooper: "I just saw him. I figured he was over there because he wanted the ball, so I gave it to him."

With 148 passing yards, 18 rushing yards and four total touchdowns, Allen added another noteworthy performance to his MVP campaign.

3 — NFL's best takeaway team continues

The Bills entered the game leading the NFL with a +14 turnover differential in 2024 and 84 points off takeaways. They increased those totals with three fumble recoveries in the second half and 7 points off those takeaways.

After neither team turned the ball over in the first half, Buffalo was able to pad its lead after safety Taylor Rapp came through with a momentum-changing punch out of 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk at the goal line on the first drive of the second half.

Rapp shared postgame that his focus on the tackle wasn't even to jar the ball loose, he was just trying to prevent a touchdown. The veteran safety now has two INTs and a forced fumble in his last three games.

"Got the ball out, huge game changing play right there," Rapp said.

Buffalo led 28-10 at the start of the fourth quarter and on the first play, 49ers QB Brock Purdy fumbled the ball deep in his own territory before his hand went forward and the Bills recovered at the SF 25-yard line.

"Wet ball drills are a big thing our guys do all the time for conditions like this," DE AJ Epenesa said. "Because it's cold, rainy, your hands can barely move, and then the ball is wet as well. "It's tough, but it's just part of what we do here in Buffalo."

Four plays after the fumble recovery, Allen scrambled for an 8-yard TD to put the game out of reach.

The Bills were able to get their second-stringers into the game with 10 minutes left, giving everyone a chance to contribute to a division clinching victory.

"This year is a little special, just because we have a lot of guys that are putting the team first," Epenesa shared. "They're team-first guys. Guys are ready to lay it all on the line for a win for everybody else."