No football game ever goes down in a perfect manner, but damn did the Bills look close to it or what against the 49ers on Monday Night Football?
In Week 13, Buffalo (9-3) topped the Niners (5-7), 34-24, to help inch closer to their first AFC East title since 1995. In the process of doing so, the Bills also snapped another streak, their first Monday win since 1999.
There was a lot of good to come out of it, but hopefully the rest of the NFL doesn’t realize the Bills put their perfect winning formula on display.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen was 32-for-40 passing with 375 yards and four touchdowns. He was only sacked once and hit three times, a big turnaround from the Bills’ offensive line efforts against Joey Bosa and the Chargers a week earlier.
Aside from the crazy start to the game which involved a turnover on downs for both defenses and a fumble by Bills running back Zack Moss… that was all she wrote. The Bills, down 7-0 because of the very short field the 49ers had via the fumble, put 17 straight up on the scoreboard and 27 of the next 30 points in the game.
As simple as it sounds, that was it. The Bills rode their quarterback to a win like they had done earlier in the year when Allen was in the MVP discussion.
So here’s where things now get more complicated. Defensively, the Bills have been playing better in recent weeks. Cornerback Tre’Davious White can’t stop intercepting opposing quarterbacks, while safety Micah Hyde, who had a few big plays including a pick of his own, shined vs. the Niners as well. The defensive line didn’t record a sack, but 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens was rushed on a lot of his throws.
But because of the offense, we had a bit of paper covering the cracks. No. 2 cornerback Levi Wallace had a bad game. Rookie wideout for the 49ers, Brandon Aiyuk, abused him throughout, an effort which included a 49-yard reception and touchdown catch with Wallace in coverage. He also had a 25 yard pass interference penalty.
The bigger issue is still the run defense. Niners rushers Jeff Wilson Jr. and Raheem Mostert averaged 6.7 and 4.7 yards per carry, respectively.
There’s some good news to be found here, though. In this formula where Buffalo’s upcoming opponents might see where they can expose the Bills, Buffalo still holds most of the cards.
Buffalo’s defense was giving up yards on the ground but consistently found ways to limit points whether it was via turnovers or stopping the bleeding after a decent gain by the offense. Wallace might have just had a bad game in his own right, but typically he’s more steady than that. Where most of the advantage sits is with Buffalo’s offense, though.
Even if there’s underlying flaws on the Bills defense, as long as they do just enough, this offense hasn’t slowed down and we’ll even call our shot: Won’t be slowed down. Allen is cruising and even if he’s not, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has had a next-level 2020 season with his play-calling and scheming. Buffalo’s offense goes up, opposition options, such as running the ball against a subpar Bills defense, goes bye-bye.
And on top of that, let’s give this defense more credit than we have been. Not only can they do “just enough,” they’ve done more than that recently and consistently. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott has again proven he knows how to pull the string to get an improved effort out of his defense. This isn’t the first time he’s done so.
All things considered, is why the Bills’ win over the 49ers was such an encouraging sign. That was truly winning formula we saw, one where the Bills have a big say in how things go.
[lawrence-related id=74120,74229,74196,74186]