The Buffalo Bills beat the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football to move to 9-3! Here are our takeaways from an important victory.
Josh Allen was dealing
I don’t know why you need to run the ball. Allen was comfortable and dealing all night. He was 19/23 for 236 yards and two TDs in the first half (with three throwaways). He added two more touchdowns in the second half. Efficient, comfortable, and averaging ten yards per attempt most of the night, Allen was able to do whatever he wanted all night. He went for 80 percent passing, 375 yards, 9.4 yards per attempt, and a 139.1 rating. He’s the first Bills QB with four TDs and and 80 percent completion percentage in a single game. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll deserves A TON of credit for his play calling, too.
Zack Moss’s fumble means something
Head coach Sean McDermott is consistent and unbending; if you fumble, you will not see the field. On Buffalo’s second drive, rookie Zack Moss fumbled at Buffalo’s own goal line and lost the ball. The 49ers scored on the ensuing short field. With 11 minutes and change remaining in the game, they put in Moss to get zero yards on 3rd-and-1. That was odd. He didn’t see the field again. Devin Singletary ended up with 18 carries to Moss’s 3. It’s a learning moment for the rookie. Without that fumble, the game might not even be that close.
Don’t your dare call McDermott conservative anymore
Sean McDermott is not a conservative coach. With just over a minute left in the first half near their own ten, the Bills mounted a drive that scored points before halftime. Over and over again, they went for it on fourth down. Corey Bojorquez didn’t punt until the game was well in hand. They even “tried to draw the opponent offside” before actually converting on a fourth down that led to a touchdown. McDermott has a growth mindset and it’s been on full display, and has been all season.
Tre White is back, folks
Interceptions in three of the last four games and a complete blanketing of Deebo Samuel in the first half, Tre’Davious White is feeling it recently. He had a slow start to the year, as nearly every defender did, but he has come on recently and is deserving of all the hype. Samuel didn’t have a catch in the first half and racked up some garbage-time stats.
Monday Night Football
Buffalo hasn’t won a Monday primetime game on ESPN/ABC since 1999. I was in high school. It’s another monkey off the back of these Bills led by Josh Allen, Sean McDermott, and general manager Brandon Beane. It’s significant for the future because these Bills haven’t shown their ability to adapt to changing game times and the absence of routine. They play next Sunday night, the following Saturday, then Monday night again. If they’re going to win in the postseason, they need to play in multiple time slots on multiple days. This is another step in the right direction.
Playoff picture coming into focus
With the win over the 49ers, the Bills stay in third place in the AFC and a game plus a tiebreaker ahead of the Miami Dolphins in the AFC East. Buffalo has the high ground in the fight for the three seed and their first division title since George H.W. Bush was president since 1995.