Sunday Night Football: SNF 49ers @ Bills

[Moab]

Bills dominated this one, winning 35-10, and they clinch the AFC East Title already!


There are some a couple of other good games next week - Bills/Rams is a big one, Falcons/Vikings is big, and of course the games you mentioned. And you never know what games will be close. But yeah on paper it’s one of the weaker weeks.

I think some of the matchups will play out to be good games, but we don't get a lot of top tier teams playing each other. Bears/Niners will probably be good but neither team is going anywhere. I'm thinking the Bills will work the Rams as they Rams haven't beaten a good team that I recall and maybe Cousins will get some revenge, but the way he's playing I doubt it. Who knows...that's why they play the games.

 

[PnkPanther]

I think some of the matchups will play out to be good games, but we don't get a lot of top tier teams playing each other. Bears/Niners will probably be good but neither team is going anywhere. I'm thinking the Bills will work the Rams as they Rams haven't beaten a good team that I recall and maybe Cousins will get some revenge, but the way he's playing I doubt it. Who knows...that's why they play the games.

Hey there


Rams beat Vikings

 

[PhilSimms11]

How it is...
(1)DET (11-1)*
(2)PHI (10-2)*
(3)SEA (7-5)*
(4)ATL (6-6)*
(5)MIN (10-2)
(6)GB (9-3)
(7)WAS (7-5)

How it should look...
(1)DET (11-1)*
(2)PHI (10-2)*
(3)MIN (10-2)
(4)GB (9-3)
(5)WAS (8-5)
(6)SEA (7-5)*
(7)ATL (6-6)*
*division leader

These teams are too damn good to be seeded so low. I know there's plenty of football left to be played, but it happens every year...a team with a superior W-L record has to travel. Does MIN (10-2) @ ATL (6-6) make sense? No, it doesn't.

 

[Moab]

How it is...
(1)DET (11-1)*
(2)PHI (10-2)*
(3)SEA (7-5)*
(4)ATL (6-6)*
(5)MIN (10-2)
(6)GB (9-3)
(7)WAS (7-5)

How it should look...
(1)DET (11-1)*
(2)PHI (10-2)*
(3)MIN (10-2)
(4)GB (9-3)
(5)WAS (8-5)
(6)SEA (7-5)*
(7)ATL (6-6)*
*division leader

These teams are too damn good to be seeded so low. I know there's plenty of football left to be played, but it happens every year...a team with a superior W-L record has to travel. Does MIN (10-2) @ ATL (6-6) make sense? No, it doesn't.

Right, but just about every year one of the worse record division winners beats those good wild card teams...just the way it is

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

Niners are all but done now imho...

From 49ers Webzone:

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With playoff hopes fading, 49ers need to ‘do something special’ to turn their season around.​

With five games remaining in the 2024 NFL season, it's safe to say the San Francisco 49ers' playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.

Making matters worse is the fact the 49ers have appeared lifeless in their past two games -- a 38-10 loss at Green Bay on November 24 and a 35-10 loss at Buffalo on December 1. In neither game did the 49ers resemble a playoff contender, and with injuries continuing to pile up, it's getting harder to see how the 49ers are going to be able to dig themselves out of this hole.

They'll surely keep trying, but as head coach Kyle Shanahan noted after his team's loss to the Bills on Sunday, it's going to take something beyond what they've done in the past to make it happen.

"This is the hole we put ourselves in and made it a lot tougher," Shanahan said. "And if we want to get out of it, we've got to do something special here."

This year's 49ers team stands at 5-7 after 12 games and is two games behind the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West with five games left to play. According to NFL.com playoff projections, the 49ers' odds of making the playoffs are now down to just nine percent. They face a challenging road the rest of the way, starting with a home game next week against the Chicago Bears (4-8) followed by a Thursday night home game against the Los Angeles Rams (6-6), a road game against the Miami Dolphins (5-7), a Monday night home game against the Detroit Lions (11-1), and a road game to close the season against the Arizona Cardinals (6-6).

With the Washington Commanders currently holding down the final wild card spot at 8-5, the 49ers may have to win the division in order to reach the postseason. Either way, they may have to win out to put themselves in a position to have a chance.

"All must-wins," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the loss to the Bills. "It was a must-win this week. It's even stronger next week. So it'll be that way from here on out."

Making matters more difficult is the fact the 49ers don't seem to have the ammo they had in years past to dig themselves out of tough situations. They may have lost running back Christian McCaffrey for the remainder of the season to a knee injury he suffered against the Bills. Defensive end Nick Bosa (hip, oblique), cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee), guard Aaron Banks (concussion), and left tackle Trent Williams (ankle) were all sidelined against the Bills, while linebacker Dre Greenlaw still awaits his season debut after spending the bulk of the year recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in last season's Super Bowl. Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (knee) and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (triceps) are out for the season, and safety Talanoa Hufanga has been on injured reserve with torn wrist ligaments. Meanwhile, linebacker Fred Warner has been playing with an ankle fracture.

Despite that, Shanahan expects better than what he's seen from his team over the past two games.

"I'm real disappointed," Shanahan said Sunday. "We've got a lot more pride than this. And I know we definitely know we have some people out and stuff, but we can play a lot better than that. Having three turnovers both of these weeks and getting none, I think that's six to zero in two weeks. And when you do that and you don't stop the run like we have in these last two weeks, I usually can guess the outcome."

Among the more notable comebacks from this core of players over the years has been a 10-game winning streak to close the 2022 regular season and win the NFC West after a 3-4 start and a 7-2 finish to make the playoffs as a wild card in 2021 after a 3-5 start. Both of those teams saw their seasons come to an end in the NFC Championship game.

If this year's team manages to bounce back from their current situation, it would be the most impressive and improbable comeback yet. But even if the odds look slim at the moment, the team plans to keep fighting, starting with their upcoming home game against the Bears.

"We're not as good of a team as those past teams," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the loss to Buffalo on Sunday. "So that's kind of how I look at it. We're not the same team at all. Every team each year is different. But I'm not going to say that this team is the same as last year's team or we're just not fighting as hard.

"We got a bunch of different guys out there. We've been trying to find our way since the beginning. Haven't quite found that yet. There's still a lot of season left, and we expect to play better. But I'm not going to say that our team doesn't have fight."

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

49ers fear Christian McCaffrey suffered potentially season-ending PCL injury​

By David Bonilla
49ers Webzone
6 hrs ago



San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed Sunday night that the team fears running back Christian McCaffrey suffered a right posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury during the game against the Buffalo Bills. The injury could potentially end McCaffrey's season.

When asked if the injury might be season-ending, Shanahan responded, "I think potentially. I'm not exactly sure yet. I think PCL is usually a couple of weeks, but I'm not exactly sure yet."

With only five games remaining on the schedule and the 49ers' postseason hopes fading, even a multi-week recovery timeline could mark the end of McCaffrey's already abbreviated 2024 campaign.

McCaffrey exited the game in the second quarter after being evaluated in the medical tent and later headed to the locker room. Postgame, he was seen leaving on crutches with a brace on his right knee.


The 49ers await further test results, but Shanahan expressed concern during his postgame press conference.

"He had a great week of practice," Shanahan said. "I could feel his urgency and stuff, and I thought he came out great, looking real good. And it looked like he just got his shoestring there, he's about to break a house call. And I'm guessing he got hurt on that play. I don't know. I never got to talk to him."

Shanahan added, "But hurt for him. Tough for our team not having him."

Quarterback Brock Purdy also addressed the loss of McCaffrey, praising the running back's impact and expressing hope for a quick recovery.

"Obviously, we all saw what he was doing, and he was on fire," Purdy said. "He looked great hitting the holes hard, and bouncing off guys, and making some really explosive plays, and that's huge. And so, obviously, when you lose a guy like Christian, it sucks.

"Hopefully, we can get him back soon. But I thought [RB Jordan Mason] and [RB] Isaac [Guerendo] came in and did a good job, too. But yeah, it sucks. He's one of the best running backs in the league, and when you lose him like that, I think it takes away just sort of how we do some things within the offense. But it sucks."

Sunday marked McCaffrey's fourth game this season. He missed the first eight games due to Achilles tendinitis.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[DJ Fieri]

This may get ugly.

It sure did.

 

[DJ Fieri]

Bills are tough this year, definitely a chance to reach the Bowl … 49rs are banged up, plus the bad weather, no surprise…

They do but the AFC is a lot tougher than the NFC.

KC, Buffalo and Baltimore could all get to the Big Game.

 

[Moab]

They do but the AFC is a lot tougher than the NFC.

KC, Buffalo and Baltimore could all get to the Big Game.

This doesn't appear to be the case to me. I might've missed something, but didn't we just see Philly kind of beat up on the Ravens Sunday afternoon? When you think of big physical teams in the AFC, the Ravens and Steelers very often come to mind, unfortunately the Steelers have an odd identity on offense and the Ravens don't.

I don't see either conference being tougher. There are about 4 teams from each conference right now that appear to be contenders. As a bonus, one of the middling teams could get hot and make a serious run. That's why I watch the games.

 

[Moab]

Bills dominated this one, winning 35-10, and they clinch the AFC East Title already!


There are some a couple of other good games next week - Bills/Rams is a big one, Falcons/Vikings is big, and of course the games you mentioned. And you never know what games will be close. But yeah on paper it’s one of the weaker weeks.

I missed the game that probably means the most. The Seahawks at Cardinals just might be a game for the NFC West title. The Rams still might have a say in this race, but they play the Bills next week and from there get to play both Sea and Az, but Seattle could put some distance between them and the rest with a W.

 

[Battlelyon]

I missed the game that probably means the most. The Seahawks at Cardinals just might be a game for the NFC West title. The Rams still might have a say in this race, but they play the Bills next week and from there get to play both Sea and Az, but Seattle could put some distance between them and the rest with a W.

Rams don't worry about Seattle, Seattle worries about the Rams.

Rams only have two road games left @ San Fran and @Jets

Seattle plays three road gsmes and the Vikings and Packers at home

Seattle has only beaten one winning team all year and that was against Denver in week one.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

They do but the AFC is a lot tougher than the NFC.

KC, Buffalo and Baltimore could all get to the Big Game.

Detroit and Philly are looking pretty tough in the NFC …

 

[DJ Fieri]

Detroit and Philly are looking pretty tough in the NFC …

I firmly expect those teams to play for the right to the represent the NFC in the SB.

 

[Dude]

Bills looked very good last night, having fun in the snow. That dive for TD by Allen was an epic play. He got 2 TDs in fantasy leagues for that one?
Hope the Bills make it all the way this year. Such a deserving team.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

Rams don't worry about Seattle, Seattle worries about the Rams.

Rams only have two road games left @ San Fran and @Jets

Seattle plays three road gsmes and the Vikings and Packers at home

Seattle has only beaten one winning team all year and that was against Denver in week one.

One thing about the Seahawks right now, even though I don’t have faith in Geno, Seattles D is playing SO much better since the Rams last meeting … I think coach Mcdonald is putting his stamp on things more, players are buying in …

 

[Battlelyon]

One thing about the Seahawks right now, even though I don’t have faith in Geno, Seattles D is playing SO much better since the Rams last meeting … I think coach Mcdonald is putting his stamp on things more, players are buying in …

I agree, Rams are Jekyll and Hyde right now too.