First, the San Francisco 49ers were buried under a western New York snowstorm.
Then they were buried by the Buffalo Bills.
Behind four total 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 team outcome was the product of Allen’s individual brilliance. Given a prime-time opportunity to boost 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 touchdown, and even scored as a receiver.
‘SNF’ blog: Look back at how the game unfolded
In the third quarter, Allen completed a pass to Amari Cooper, who was quickly surrounded by 49ers defenders and threw a lateral to Allen, who sprinted past and dove for a touchdown. Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history to score touchdowns running, passing and receiving in a single game.
After they fell behind 3-0, the Bills scored the next 28 points to easily take control and improve to 10-2, including 6-0 at home.
For the 49ers (5-7), a miserable season continued when running back Christian McCaffrey hobbled to the sideline in the first half and later to the locker room with what the team said was a knee injury. The noncontact injury comes less than a month after McCaffrey made his season debut following two months on the sideline while dealing with Achilles tendinitis in both legs. To add more injury to insult, star linebacker Fred Warner later left the game, as well. Neither returned.
Around the league
- Twelve games were decided by seven points or less, the most in a single week in NFL history. In three of those victories — by the Indianapolis Colts, the Minnesota Vikings and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — the game-winning plays came in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime.
- The Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the Cincinnati Bengals in a 44-38 win on the road. Quarterback Russell Wilson had a vintage performance, throwing for 414 yards and three touchdowns to propel his team to 9-3. Cincinnati, playoff contenders entering the season, are just 4-8.
- Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence was carted off the field late in the first half of his team’s 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans with a head injury. As he was rushing for a first down and in the process of sliding, Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair collided with him. Al-Shaair was ejected for the illegal hit. Lawrence later said on social media he was “home and feeling better.”
