ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Picturesque snow fell to the ground, then so did Christian McCaffrey. Inevitably the 49ers dropped as well for a third straight defeat, 35-10, on Sunday night against the AFC East-clinching Buffalo Bills.
The 49ers’ upset bid had life up until their second drive, when McCaffrey left with a posterior cruciate injury to his right knee that could end his already truncated season.
“Out of all people, we know how hard he worked to get back here, and what type of guy he is,” 49ers cornerback Isaac Yiadom said. “You hate to see that (expletive). But it’s football.”
And it truly snowballed from there.
Home fans celebrated the Bills’ ensuing barrage of touchdowns by flinging snowballs into the air, made possible by this weekend’s lake-effect storm and the 49ers’ overall ineptitude.
The 49ers responded by dropping the ball — the slick football — with lost fumbles charged to Kyle Juszczyk (at the 1-yard line), Brock Purdy (fourth-quarter-opening sack), and Deebo Samuel (fourth-quarter kick return, down 35-10).
The 49ers (5-7) are alone in last place in the NFC West for the first time since the 2020 season ended. On the heels of this defeat and last Sunday’s 38-10 rout in Green Bay, the 49ers return to Levi’s Stadium to host NFC North doormat Chicago (4-8) next Sunday at 1:25 p.m. in the Bears’ first game under interim coach Thomas Brown.
“We definitely know we have some people out and stuff, but we can play a lot better than that,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “Having three turnovers both of these weeks and getting down none — that’s 6-0 (turnover differential) in two weeks. When you do that and you don’t stop the run like we haven’t in these last two weeks, you can guess the outcome.”
Last season, the 49ers overcame a three-game skid last season en route to the Super Bowl. This season’s much-maligned team has much less time with much greater injury issues. Five games remain to reverse course and chase down NFC West foes Seattle (7-5), Arizona (6-6) and Los Angeles (6-6).
Christian McCaffrey #23 of the San Francisco 49ers runs the ball up the field in the first quarter of a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Dec. 01, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
McCaffrey, who missed the first eight games with Achilles tendinitis, officially was ruled out at halftime Sunday night. The second quarter was just underway, however, when he banged his knee after a shoestring tackle on an 18-yard run to the Bills’ 30-yard line. On his next and final carry, he intentionally slid and surrendered for a 5-yard loss, then exited to the sideline, then the locker room and now perhaps the offseason.
McCaffrey’s departure weakened a Week 12 lineup already lacking left tackle Trent Williams (ankle), defensive end Nick Bosa (oblique), cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee), left guard Aaron Banks (concussion) and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (concussion), not to mention this season’s earlier casualties such as wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, safety Talanoa Hufanga and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
The 49ers welcomed Purdy back from a one-game absence, and he said his throwing-shoulder issue did not hinder him, at least no more than the Bills’ defense and the climate (28 degrees). He was 11-of-18 for 94 yards.
“This just isn’t the standard that we play with. The last couple of years and stuff, our mentality of coming out to games and being the enforcers and the dominators,” Purdy said. “So to have two games like this back-to-back late in the season, it sucks. But for us, it’s got to be next-game-up and we can’t be down in the dumps because we still have an opportunity in front of us.”
McCaffrey may not. He was off to his best start of the season, racking up 78 rushing yards on six carries (before his 5-yard loss upon exiting) and adding two catches for 14 yards.
Said Shanahan: “He came out great, looking real good. Looked like he got him by the shoestring, was about to break a house call. … I never got to talk to him. I hurt for him, and it’s tough for our team not to have him.”
McCaffrey exited the locker room in a knee brace without comment.
Added Purdy: “We all saw what he was doing. He was on fire, man. He looked great, hitting the holes hard, bouncing off guys and making some real explosive plays.”
The Bills went on a four-touchdown spree before the 49ers finally found the end zone, on a 15-yard run from Isaac Guerendo in the third quarter for a 28-10 deficit.
Once Josh Allen produced his third touchdown of the night (one pass, one reception, one run), the Bills Mafia broke into an “MVP” chant to serenade the Firebaugh native and childhood 49ers fan. Allen was pulled for Mitchell Trubisky early in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, right, scores past San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner, bottom, during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
“He’s in the MVP talk, right? He’s playing like it,” said Yiadom, who rotated with Nick McCloud in the nickel defense. “He went out there and put his team on his back.”
While Allen’s touchdown pass went to Mack Hollins for a 21-3 halftime lead, the seventh-year quarterback scored on his own for the Bills’ next two touchdowns — first on a lateral from Amari Cooper at the 9-yard line after a completion from Allen, then the Bills’ lead climbed to 35-10 on Allen’s 8-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
The Bills’ touchdown that truly sprung their rout was James Cook’s 65-yard sprint past a 49ers defense that was temporarily missing Fred Warner (cramps). That score made it 14-3, and it came on their series after McCaffrey’s exit (and after Jake Moody’s first of two missed field-goal attempts).
The 49ers impressively opened their second-half comeback bid until Juszczyk fumbled at the 1-yard line. Samuel set up that potential touchdown drive by returning the second-half kickoff 60 yards, a week after another lengthy kick return was wiped out by a penalty.
McCaffrey’s exit opened the door for early-season sensation Jordan Mason, and he had racked up 78 yards on 13 carries while also being cleared from a potential concussion. Guerendo had 19 yards on four carries.
The 49ers turned their opening possession into a 3-0 lead via Moody’s 33-yard field goal. That was a fair payoff for a drive that opened with an 8-yard completion to George Kittle before an eventual, season-long 19-yard run by McCaffrey to the Bills’ 29-yard line.
Jake Moody #4 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with teammates after kicking a field goal in the first quarter of a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Dec. 01, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
But first, the game opened with the 49ers defense rebounding quickly from last Sunday’s faceplant in Green Bay. They denied the Bills a first down on this game’s opening series, starting with Maliek Collins’ tackle for no gain on the first snap.
Having lost four of six road games with only trips remaining to Miami and Arizona, the 49ers will not have a winning record away from Levi’s Stadium for the first time since they went winless in eight road starts in their 2018 season (4-12 overall).
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NOTES
— Cornerback Charvarius Ward returned from a four-game absence, the last three of which were on bereavement leave after his 23-month-old daughter’s unexpected death.
— Josh Dobbs served as the No. 2 quarterback for a second straight game, with Brandon Allen moving into the No. 3 role after starting last Sunday’s loss at Green Bay.
— Bills rookie running back Frank Gore Jr., the son of the 49ers’ all-time leading rusher, was not elevated from the practice squad. His father, a 49ers personnel advisor, indeed made the trip to Buffalo.
Football fans cheer during the third quarter of a game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Dec. 01, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)