Capaccio: Up Arrow/Down Arrow: 49ers at Bills

Capaccio: Up Arrow/Down Arrow: 49ers at Bills

Orchard Park, NY (WGR550) – The Buffalo Bills secured their fifth straight AFC East Division championship by defeating the San Francisco 49ers 35-10 on Sunday night.

Here are my “Up” and “Down” arrows from the competition, starting “Up” again for the seventh year in a row after their seventh straight win.

UP ARROW

QB Josh Allen

In very difficult weather conditions, Alan played like an MVP, constantly making critical plays with his arm and legs, including an incredible touchdown on a side-swipe that he snagged after a pass to Amari Cooper. Allen finished the game 13 of 17 (76.4%) for 148 yards and two touchdowns, adding another 18 yards and a touchdown rushing as well as the lateral TD for three scores on the night.

Offensive line

The Bills’ offensive line dominated the 49ers’ front. Not only was Josh Allen not sacked at all, but San Francisco was only credited with a single QB hit the entire game. They plowed through the snow for 220 yards rushing, 372 yards total and 6.6 yards per play.

RB James Cook

Cook started the second quarter with a 65-yard touchdown rush and finished the contest with 107 yards on 14 carries, an average of 7.6 yards per carry. He added a 13-yard reception for 120 yards from scrimmage.

LB Matt Milano

Milano played his first game since Week 5 of last season, missing nearly 14 months after suffering a leg injury followed by a biceps injury. He not only started, but basically played every first and second down and only left the field in critical situations. His presence on the field alone was a huge boost for the Bills defense. Milano finished the game with five total tackles.

DE Greg Rousseau

Once again, Rousseau filled the defensive stat line, collecting four total tackles, three of them for losses, a sack, a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery.

RBs Ray Davis and Ty Johnson

Both Davis and Johnson played key roles in a hard-fought Bills ground game, with Davis running 11 times for 63 yards, an average of 5.7 per carry. One of them was for a touchdown.

Johnson finished off the 49ers late with 5 carries for 28 yards, an average of 5.6 yards per carry.

TE Dawson Knox

As the weather gets colder, Knox seems to be doing better. He had two game-winning throws down the field for a total of 56 yards, which was a game-high.

Fumble caused by Taylor Rapp

With the score 21-3 early in the second half and the 49ers poised to hit the ball into the end zone, safety Taylor Rapp instead knocked it out of the hands of San Francisco fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who was at the one-yard line located. It was recovered by Christian Benford, who returned it to the Bills’ 48-yard line. Huge play to keep a three-point game hot.

S. Cole Bishop

Bishop had two big plays on Bills’ kickoffs, including a forced fumble that gave the offense the ball at the San Francisco 31-yard line, and also a big tackle on a Deebo Samuel return when it looked like he would still have a lead that could go much further.

Running game

The Bills ran for an outstanding 220 yards, an average of 5.8 yards per carry.

K Tyler Bass

Although Bass missed a 49-yard field goal, he also scored all five extra points in very harsh winter conditions.

3. Down offense and defense

The Bills’ offense converted 50% of their third down opportunities and was 6 for 12, while the defense held the 49ers to just 3 of 10 (30%).

Red zone offense and defense

Both sides of the ball were excellent in the red zone. The Bills scored on all four trips (4 of 4, 100%), while the 49ers only converted 1 of 3 trips inside the Bills 20 into a touchdown (33.3%).

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DOWN ARROW

Run the defense

It was difficult for second- and third-level defenders on both sides to assert themselves against the run, and the 49ers took advantage of that, running 27 times for 153 yards, an average of 5.7 yards per carry.

Kickoff coverage

The Bills gave up 34.7 yards per kick return on six 49ers runbacks. Deebo Samuel had returns of 60 and 43 yards! Way too much.

Discontinued liquor

Photo credit: Liquor Sales

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