ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — As snow blew onto the field and created a snowglobe atmosphere, the Bills defeated the 49ers 35-10 on Sunday, keeping multiple streaks intact.

With the win, the Bills improved to 8-0 under Sean McDermott after their bye week. And in the last six games after the bye, the Bills’ average margin of victory was 12.2 points.

The Bills also continued their winning streak, winning a seventh straight win, increasing their record to 10-2. During this winning streak, the Bills’ average margin of victory was 13.6 points.

And as icing on the cake, the Bills clinched their fifth straight AFC East title much earlier than the previous four, less than 24 hours into December. The Bills are one of only eight teams in NFL history to win their division with five weeks remaining, and they are the first team to do so in 15 years.

But the Bills haven’t settled on their past successes. With five games to go and still one game behind the Chiefs as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, they have one thing on their minds – and the pun is fully intended.

“We’re looking for first place,” star quarterback Josh Allen said of home-field advantage and a first-round bye to the postseason. “We understand that. We know that and we have to get better every week. It will be fun to go out and play freely, relaxed and easy. I think they can be a dangerous team.”

Here’s a look at what stood out from the Bills’ stunning win over a talented 49ers team.

The key to unlocking the Bills rushing game

While Allen and his improvisational tricks will draw a lot of attention with the win – and for good reason – it wasn’t the engine that helped the Bills to their sixth straight game in which they scored over 30 points. Those accolades belonged to the running game, with plenty of credit going to both the running backs and the offensive line. Before the final three squats, the Bills had accumulated 223 rushing yards, an average of 6.6 yards per carry. This statistic is even more impressive when you consider that the 49ers have one of the better defensive fronts in the NFL.

“There’s nothing to say other than we’re slowing down their D-line,” Bills offensive lineman Alec Anderson said. “They didn’t want to play. They came out and we just dominated up front.”

Quick 65 yard run to Celly with a Snow Angel.

📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/N0aAWEEHjQ

– Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 2, 2024

That was the basic element – the offensive line set the line of scrimmage from the second drive, but there was a little more to it. Not much, as it turned out after the game, but just a little more. And the biggest piece of the puzzle is that the Bills didn’t try to fool the 49ers. They found a track they liked and played it the rest of the night.

“Yeah, we, uh… We played the same play over and over again,” reserve offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark said after the game.

“The same play over and over and over and over again,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said.

“Oh yeah. Yeah, we did. I looked on the sideline and said, ‘Well, here we go again,'” right tackle Spencer Brown said. “So we knew what it was. They knew it was .”

The biggest piece of the puzzle was Anderson, the Bills’ sixth offensive lineman, who they use as a de facto tight end on jumbo packages. The results with Anderson on the field in the ground game speak for themselves. After the Bills took a 28-3 lead, Anderson was on the field for 11 plays before the game ended. The Bills gained 10.5 yards per rushing play on those 11 attempts.

However, for a certain group of staff it was even greater. When the Bills put Anderson on the field as a tight end with 11 players and three receivers, the Bills gained a whopping 113 yards in just six plays – an average of 18.8 yards per attempt.

Anderson, a California native playing his first snow game in Buffalo, took to it like a polar bear diving into the Arctic. To put it mildly, Anderson is known among his teammates as one of the more energetic players.

“Alec is the type of guy that fights first, asks questions second,” Van Demark said.

“I call him crazy because Alec is crazy,” Dawkins added.

And Anderson took the fight to the 49ers, helping produce several big rushing gains that went outside as well – including the biggest play of the game that helped the Bills take clear control of the contest.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, buddy. They had no answers for us,” Anderson said. “So you know exactly what we would do. They knew we were going to pass the ball right there. And what happened? James had a 65-yard touchdown and we just rolled.”

That play – a one-play touchdown drive – gave the Bills a 14-3 lead after the 49ers missed a field goal attempt, and they never looked back.

“They couldn’t stop the running game on that particular play,” Van Demark said. “We just kept it going and Alec did a great job because he’s the guy for that play.”

Matt Milano plays a familiar, subdued role post-injury, but with a twist

For the first time in nearly 14 months, the Bills had star linebacker Matt Milano available in a real game. After recovering from two long-term injuries, Milano made a long-awaited return to the lineup and the Bills wasted little time working him into the defense.

In 2020, after Milano was absent for several games on injured reserve, the linebacker played a muted role in his first game back. Just like this year, Milano’s return this season came in Week 13 against the 49ers. But the Bills didn’t overload him and only allowed the linebacker to respond to obvious passes. This pattern continued through the first three games.

What’s interesting about Milano’s first game in 2024 is that the Bills once again limited his role, but in the opposite way they approached it in 2020. The team put Milano on the field on early downs and held him to third-and-short opportunities. When the 49ers found themselves in an obvious passing situation on third downs, the Bills replaced Milano with defensive back Cam Lewis and the dime look they had worn for most of the season. In his first game back, Milano essentially took over the role that second-year Dorian Williams had played all year as a starter.

However, what makes Milano such an impactful player for the Bills is his ability to bridge the gap between first and second pass run defense while also being an asset in coverage in obvious passing situations without the team having to do any of it Size has to be sacrificed. It remains to be seen whether this is ultimately how the Bills want to structure their defense once Milano becomes more accustomed to it. However, if his history and influence on the team are any indication, this would be the strong setback. In 2020, the Bills muted Milano’s role in his first three games after the injury. As long as everything goes well for Milano, that seems like a reasonable number of games in 2024 before he returns to his full-time role.

Amari Cooper’s role reaches its highest level

Hook-and-ladder play aside, if you look at the snap counts the NFL releases after games, Bills receiver Amari Cooper is posting about the same snap rate as he did against the Chiefs (50.7 percent). , but that doesn’t reflect his true role in the offense when the game was still somewhat questionable. Including penalties, the Bills played 44 games against the 49ers from the start of the game to the touchdown and took a 35:10 lead. Cooper saw a significant increase in his snap rate, appearing on the field for 29 of those 44 snaps, for an offensive participation rate of nearly 66 percent. This number is Cooper’s highest snap percentage since joining the Bills in Week 7.

With Cooper recovering from the wrist injury that sidelined him for two games and becoming more accustomed to Allen and the offense, an increased role is emerging as a trend going forward. Given his skill set and potential impact in a game where the Bills are placing more emphasis on the passing attack playing a prominent role, Cooper will be an integral piece moving forward, and the Bills are responding accordingly. Ultimately, it’s probably realistic for Cooper to hit the 75-85 percent mark, and the offense’s goal is to maximize their snaps with their best offensive resources.

Bills MVP: The offensive line – With all due respect to Allen, who is probably just five good starts away from his best shot at the NFL’s MVP award ever, this game in a snowy atmosphere was all about the five offensive players in the starting lineup 49ers defense took the win. The night belonged to you.

Bills LVP: Special teams coverage units – Deebo Samuel helped the 49ers get the go-ahead run a couple of times and had great results. Honorable mention goes to reserve safety Cole Bishop, who called a holding penalty that negated a potential special teams touchdown by returner Brandon Codrington.

Next: The 10-2 Bills play the first of two road games against NFC opponents, facing the 6-6 Los Angeles Rams on Sunday before facing the Lions on Dec. 15.

(Top photo by James Cook: Timothy T Ludwig / Getty Images)