For the second straight week the 49ers offense ran fewer than 50 snaps, a rarity in the NFL.
That’s what happens when you commit three fumbles and the opponent has no turnovers. Sunday’s snow-filled, run-heavy game also meant that the contest lasted only 2:46. That’s the 49ers’ shortest game since Week 17 in Washington last year, which lasted 2:44.
The 49ers ran 48 plays versus 58 for the Buffalo Bills. Here’s how the individual snaps were divided:
Quarterback: Brock Purdy 48
Purdy isn’t the greatest bad-weather quarterback. He finished with 94 passing yards, his lowest total in any NFL game he completed. His only more modest outing was the 2022 NFC Championship game – 23 yards – in which he tore an elbow ligament early on.
Of course, there were three drops Sunday — by Jauan Jennings, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle — that contributed to the meager passing numbers. And there was one play on which Ricky Pearsall slipped as the ball was heading his way.
Purdy also lost his grip on the ball while attempting a throw early in the fourth quarter. That was reminiscent of a wet game in Cleveland last year in which the ball popped out of his hand on a pass attempt as well as last season’s wet playoff game against the Green Bay Packers in which Purdy initially had trouble with a slick ball.
Bad-weather Brock? Sunday’s game wasn’t the first time Purdy had trouble holding onto the ball in inclement conditions. pic.twitter.com/XlT7xuzEYf
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 3, 2024
Running back: Jordan Mason 25, Kyle Juszczyk (fullback) 21, Christian McCaffrey 12, Isaac Guerendo 11, Kittle 3, Pearsall 1, Samuel 1
The fact that seven different players lined up in the backfield underscores the run-heavy nature of the game plan. Kyle Shanahan also noted that Josh Dobbs, not Brandon Allen, was the No. 2 quarterback because he’s the better runner and would have been more of an asset had he had to enter the game.
McCaffrey, who led the NFL with 21 touchdowns last season, will end the regular season with zero. Ironically, he might have scored on a run early in the second quarter if not for a shoestring tackle that may have led to his PCL injury.
GO DEEPER 49ers place McCaffrey on injured reserve, plan to put Mason on IROn Tuesday, the 49ers put McCaffrey on injured reserve and claimed Israel Abanikanda off waivers from the New York Jets. Abanikanda was a fifth-round pick by the Jets last season. He ran a 4.45-second 40 last year, which is good for a 216-pound tailback. The Jets also use a zone-running scheme that’s similar to the 49ers’, which ought to help his learning curve here.
Abanikanda, who turned 22 in October and is the youngest 49er, presumably will be the team’s No. 3 running back behind Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr., who likely will be promoted from the practice squad.
Izzy Abanikanda!
The @nyjets RB goes 45 yards for the TD ✈️ pic.twitter.com/dt20iFd1XO
— NFL (@NFL) August 25, 2024
Wide receiver: Jennings 46, Samuel 35, Pearsall 34, Chris Conley 3, Jacob Cowing 1
Jennings had a drop, but he also had a terrific, diving catch in close coverage and tied with Buffalo’s Dawson Knox with a game-high 56 receiving yards. Jennings clearly has become the 49ers quarterbacks’ favorite wide receiver target. He’s been targeted 34 times in the last four games. The next highest is Samuel with 22 targets.
Tight end: Kittle 45, Eric Saubert 2
Why did Kittle, who entered the game third among NFL tight ends in receiving yards, have just one catch for seven yards? Because he spent the bulk of the game as either a run or pass blocker.
“I think I ran, like, six more routes the rest of the day,” he said when asked if the Bills did anything to take him out of the passing game following his initial catch. “No, I didn’t feel (they were doing) that. I felt pretty open multiple times.”
Offensive line: Jaylon Moore 48, Ben Bartch 48, Jake Brendel 48, Dominick Puni 48, Colton McKivitz 48
It was another good effort from Moore, who allowed just one quarterback pressure, and it was a strong first start by Bartch, who often was at the tip of the 49ers’ inside running game. This was a game built for guards, and Bartch, who had been a healthy scratch the first 10 weeks, emerged with Pro Football Focus’ second-highest offensive grade for the 49ers (78.4) behind Puni’s mark of 89.3.
“I was impressed by him,” Shanahan said of Bartch. “I know he’s got a lot of ability and stuff and we’ve enjoyed working with him here, but that was our first time going into a game with him. I loved how he competed. I thought he blocked well. I thought he helped us in that game. So it was a good first start for him.”
Defensive line: Yetur Gross-Matos 35, Sam Okuayinonu 34, Evan Anderson 33, Leonard Floyd 32, Maliek Collins 30, Kalia Davis 26, Robert Beal 21, Khalil Davis 18, Kevin Givens 3
Conversely, it was a tough day for defensive linemen, who had trouble getting traction (see: photo below). The Bills ran for 220 yards. The 49ers ran for 153.
GO DEEPER 49ers look a lot like their 2020 snakebit selves in snowy, blowout loss to the BillsThe MVP of the group may have been Anderson, the undrafted rookie. He made his first-ever start and tied for the lead among 49ers’ defensive linemen with four tackles. He also had the team’s only quarterback hit. The 49ers had no sacks.
Givens, who had just returned from a multi-week groin injury, tore a pectoral muscle in the first quarter and is out for the rest of the season.
Linebacker: Fred Warner 45, Dee Winters 42, De’Vondre Campbell 41, Jalen Graham 13
Warner, who revealed last week that he’s been playing with a fractured bone in his ankle since Week 4, was one of the last starters to leave the game. When the Bills took over with 7:55 to play and a 35-10 lead, the defense looked like what you might find in a mid-August preseason game. It included Anderson, Okuayinonu, Beal, Kalia Davis, Nick McCloud and other little-known 49ers.
Graham, the backup middle linebacker, tried to come in for Warner, but was sent back to the sideline. A few plays later, Warner finally went to the sideline to join the rest of the starters, but he seemed to be sending a signal by staying on the field as long as he did – the 49ers need to keep fighting.
Cornerback: Charvarius Ward 58, Renardo Green 58, McCloud 21, Isaac Yiadom 11
The 49ers used a couple of different alignments in nickel situations. In most situations, the nickel cornerback was McCloud, a newcomer who was promoted to the 53-man roster on Saturday. At other times, Yiadom entered as an outside cornerback and Green moved into the nickel role.
McCloud has experience at nickel cornerback from his time with the New York Giants. The 49ers may have used him as the primary nickel back because Green was dealing with a neck injury and was limited during the week of practice.
Safety: Ji’Ayir Brown 58, Malik Mustapha 58, Tashaun Gipson Sr. 1
It was another bad-tackling day for the safeties. Brown couldn’t hold the edge on James Cook’s 65-yard touchdown run, whiffing on the tackle attempt as the running back sped by. A week after he had three missed tackles in Green Bay, Brown had another two Sunday. Mustapha also had two.
GO DEEPER Barrows: Play with an eye toward next season? The 49ers are already doing thatShanahan said the 49ers would open Talanoa Hufanga’s (wrist) practice window this week. If Hufanga is ultimately activated — he’ll have to wear some sort of protection on the wrist – it will be interesting to see how the 49ers work him into the lineup and if Brown or Mustapha goes to the sideline to make room.
Special teams: George Odum 21, Beal 18, Saubert 16, Graham 16, Yiadom 15, Jake Tonges 15, Conley 15, Winters 14, Mason 8, Rock Ya-Sin 7, Taybor Pepper 7, Jake Moody 7, Pat O-Donnell 7, Guerendo 7, Campbell 6, Brown 6, Collins 6, Gross-Matos 6, Kalia Davis 6, Anderson 6, McCloud 6, Green 6, Samuel 6, Warner 5, McKivitz 4, Puni 4, Moore 4, Nick Zakelj 4, Spencer Burford 4, Bartch 4, Cowing 3, Gipson 1
Samuel had a fumble on a kick return, but he also had returns of 60 and 43 yards. This after he had an 87-yard return in Green Bay that was called back due to a phantom holding penalty on Saubert.
Cowing, meanwhile, did a nice job securing punts in as the snow fell. It’s hard to imagine someone who was born in Phoenix and who played collegiately at UTEP and Arizona has much experience catching punts in a snowstorm.
