The Buffalo Bills returned to Monday Night Football in their matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, where they beat the Bay Area team, 34-24. By the end of the first quarter, it seemed like the game would slip through the Bills’ fingers, but they managed to bounce back. After a turnover that set up the first 49ers touchdown, Buffalo (9-3) handled its business and took care of a depleted San Francisco (5-7) squad.
With the Monday Night Football drought finally broken, here’s Bills Wire’s latest stock report following the team’s Week 13 win over the Niners:
Stock up
Josh Allen
It was another barn-burning performance from quarterback Josh Allen, where he became the first Buffalo quarterback to complete 80 percent of his passes and throw for four touchdowns in a game.
Not bad.
The Bills quarterback wasn’t afraid to spread the sugar against the 49ers, completing passes to seven different pass catchers. And Allen completed plenty of passes. In fact, he completed 32 of them for 375 yards and the aforementioned four touchdowns. He also completed a variety of throws, whether it was finding Cole Beasley down the seam, or hitting Gabriel Davis in the middle of the field.
Allen couldn’t have played a better game against a strong 49ers defense on a national stage.
The receiving corps
We’re going to cheat here but it wouldn’t be fair to leave out any of the Bills pass catchers, because all of them produced.
Starting with the man of the hour, Cole Beasley. He had nine grabs for 130 yards and one touchdown. The wideout did a lot of his work out of the slot, which shouldn’t have surprised anyone because he came into the game leading all slot receivers in receiving yards. While getting open in the middle is great, he also showed his ability to get open when the play broke down, which is just as important when Allen is your quarterback.
Let’s move to the man of the year, Stefon Diggs. The standout receiver was a nightmare for anyone who tried to cover him. His silky route running gave him space in San Francisco’s zone and he made them pay. Diggs finished the game with 10 catches for 92 yards, putting him over 1,000 yards for the season.
Now let’s end with the rest of the group. Davis had another standout performance, coming down with just three catches, but he had 68 yards and the game-sealing touchdown. The likes of tight end Dawson Knox and wideout Isaiah McKenzie also caught touchdown passes. It was a great performance from the pass catchers – just about all of them.
Micah Hyde
Hyde hasn’t made a lot of plays this season, but that doesn’t mean he’s had a bad season. Hyde has been one of the more consistent forces when the Bills try to stop the run, and has played some decent coverage in the red zone. His performance against San Francisco was something the Bills Mafia has come to expect; he had 12 total tackles and the first of two interceptions by Buffalo.
Hyde has made his career by being in the right place at the right time and playing hard-nosed football. This was one of those games for the defensive back.
Offensive line
Sorry, but we’re going to cheat again. The Bills offensive line had a stellar game against a vaunted 49ers front-four. The front-five for Buffalo looked comfortable when protecting Allen, giving him plenty of time to find the open receiver. They were also very consistent. There have been games where the line had a few really good series, then a few really bad series. Against San Francisco, though, it never seemed outmatched and kept Allen upright, for the most part.
It wasn’t all roses for them, though. They seem to have fits when trying to block inside runs. Whenever the Bills try to run between the tackles, the running back always seems to be hit before he can reach the hole. Dion Dawkins also gave up one sack, but in fairness, it was an excellent pass rush from Dion Jordan.