First, the San Francisco 49ers have been buried below a western New York snowstorm.
Then they have been buried by the Buffalo Bills.
Behind 4 whole touchdowns by quarterback Josh Allen, the Bills routed the 49ers 35-10 on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” to clinch a playoff spot and win Buffalo’s fifth consecutive AFC East title.
The Bills’ dominant staff end result was the product of Allen’s particular person brilliance. Given a prime-time alternative to spice up his candidacy for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award, Allen threw for 148 yards and two touchdowns amid falling snow, ran for an 8-yard landing, and even scored as a receiver.
‘SNF’ blog: Look back at how the game unfolded
In the third quarter, Allen accomplished a move to Amari Cooper, who was shortly surrounded by 49ers defenders and threw a lateral to Allen, who sprinted previous and dove for a landing. Allen turned the primary quarterback in NFL historical past to attain touchdowns working, passing and receiving in a single recreation.
After they fell behind 3-0, the Bills scored the following 28 factors to simply take management and enhance to 10-2, together with 6-0 at house.
For the 49ers (5-7), a depressing season continued when working again Christian McCaffrey hobbled to the sideline within the first half and later to the locker room with what the staff mentioned was a knee harm. The noncontact harm comes lower than a month after McCaffrey made his season debut following two months on the sideline whereas coping with Achilles tendinitis in each legs. To add extra harm to insult, star linebacker Fred Warner later left the sport, as properly. Neither returned.
Around the league
- Twelve video games have been determined by seven factors or much less, probably the most in a single week in NFL historical past. In three of these victories — by the Indianapolis Colts, the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — the game-winning performs got here within the ultimate minute of the fourth quarter or additional time.
- The Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the Cincinnati Bengals in a 44-38 win on the street. Quarterback Russell Wilson had a classic efficiency, throwing for 414 yards and three touchdowns to propel his staff to 9-3. Cincinnati, playoff contenders getting into the season, are simply 4-8.
- Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was carted off the field late within the first half of his staff’s 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans with a head harm. As he was speeding for a primary down and within the technique of sliding, Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair collided with him. Al-Shaair was ejected for the unlawful hit. Lawrence later mentioned on social media he was “house and feeling higher.”