49ers vs. Bills: Key moments and analysis as Josh Allen stars for Buffalo
The San Francisco 49ers, clinging to their unlikely playoff hopes, were outclassed in a big way by the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, losing 34-24 and falling to 5-7 on the year.
The loss put a significant damper the 49ers’ postseason chances. They came into the game with a chance to tie the Minnesota Vikings at 6-6, good for the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff hunt.
San Francisco had no answers for quarterback Josh Allen and his top two receivers, Cole Beasley and Stefon Diggs, while the pass rush left a lot to be desired. 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens sputtered, save for a handful of throws, and the running game was mostly ineffective as the Bills pulled away in the second half.
Beasley and Diggs combined for 212 yards on 19 catches, coming on 22 targets, while Allen completed 32 of 40 for 375 yards and four touchdowns. The 49ers secondary, down to Dontae Johnson in the slot, their fourth option at the position, had one of its worst performances of the season, while Allen kept plays alive with his leg and hit his downfield targets with his big arm.
Here’s a run down of Monday’s 49ers loss.
First quarter
The Bills’ opened the game with a 60-yard drive to the 49ers’ 10-yard line, and San Francisco’s defense thought it recovered a fumble from running back Zack Moss, but it was overturned via replay as Moss was ruled down at the 7.
The Bills elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal, and Allen’s pass was incomplete to tight end Lee Smith. Dre Greenlaw was in coverage, and Allen appeared to have Smith open, but the throw was late and well behind him, giving San Francisco’s defense the first big play of the game.
The 49ers were bailed out by a questionable pass interference call on third down near their goal line when Mullens tried a long pass to Brandon Aiyuk on third down. The 49ers got into Bills’ territory with two strong runs from Raheem Mostert.
Shanahan thought his team scored a touchdown on third-and-goal from the 1, but fullback Kyle Juszczyk was ruled just short. Then the Bills stuffed Jeff Wilson Jr. on fourth down, giving both teams a failed stint at the goal line in the first quarter.
But on the first play of Buffalo’s possession, Moss fumbled the hand off and linebacker Fred Warner recovered, giving the 49ers the ball back at the 3. Three plays later, Aiyuk scored his fourth touchdown in his last five games, giving San Francisco a 7-0 lead after a wild opening sequence.
Second quarter
The Bills responded with a quick scoring drive, that included two great plays from Allen to find Beasley and Gabriel Davis, before finding Beasley for a 5-yard score just in front of Richard Sherman at the goal line. That tied the game at 7, and gave Beasley 74 yards on four catches in just under 17 minutes of game time.
The 49ers had to punt, then Warner had an interception nullified by an illegal contact penalty on Sherman, the Bills converted a run on fourth and short, and Allen threw a touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox for a 4-yard score, giving Buffalo a 14-7 lead. Allen completed 15 of his 18 attempts to this point.
The Bills forced a punt and got the ball back with just over a minute remaining. Allen made a few plays off schedule for explosive gains downfield, setting up a 37-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 17-7 lead as the first half expired.
Third quarter
The 49ers drove into Bills’ territory but had a drive stalled out after a 9-yard loss on Tevin Coleman’s first run of the game. They had to settle for a 45-yard attempt to make it 17-10.
San Francisco’s defense had a chance to get a stop by forcing an incompletion on second-and-18, but defensive lineman Kentavius Street hit Allen after he threw and was called for roughing the passer. Two plays later, Allen threw his third touchdown pass, a 23-yarder to receiver Isaiah McKenzie. He beat safety Tarvarius Moore on a wheel route to make it 24-10.
Things got much worse for the 49ers on the following drive. Aiyuk couldn’t handle a pass over the middle and batted it into the air. It was intercepted by Micah Hyde and returned to San Francisco’s 5-yard line. The Bills settled for a field goal after a holding penalty to make it 27-10.
But San Francisco responded. Deebo Samuel made his first two catches, and Mullens hit one of his longest passes of the season to Aiyuk for 49 yards to the 6-yard line. Juszczyk scored his third touchdown of the season a play later on a pass to the right flat, making it 27-17, and keeping the 49ers alive just as the third quarter came to a close.
Fourth quarter
The Bills moved into field goal range as Diggs made catches eight and nine on the night, but San Francisco’s defense made a run stop on third-and-short, leading to Buffalo going for it on fourth-and-short. Diggs beat Jason Verrett for a seven-yard gain and a first down inside the 30.
It led to Allen’s fourth touchdown pass. This one went to Davis, giving Allen 364 yards while completing 82 percent of his throws.
The 49ers drove back down into scoring range, but Mullens was called for an inexplicable false start on a QB sneak. He tried pushing his legs before getting the snap from Daniel Brunskill. And on the following play, star cornerback Tre’Davius White intercepted Mullens as he was trying to hit running back Jeff Wilson Jr. near the goal line. White just wrestled the ball away from Wilson, effectively sealing San Francisco’s loss.
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 6:40 PM.
