High-scoring Bills return from their bye week to host inconsistent 49ers, losers of their past 2
San Francisco (5-6) at Buffalo (9-2)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EST, NBC
NFL odds: Bills by 7.
Series record: Bills lead 7-6.
Against the spread: 49ers 4-7, Bills 7-4.
Last meeting: Bills beat 49ers 34-24 on Dec. 7, 2020, at Glendale, Arizona.
Last week: Packers beat 49ers 38-10; Bills bye.
49ers offense: overall (4), rush (7), pass (4), scoring (13).
49ers defense: overall (6), rush (11), pass (6), scoring (20).
Bills offense: overall (13), rush (11), pass (13), scoring (3).
Bills defense: overall (15), rush (13), pass (14), scoring (7).
Turnover differential: 49ers even; Bills plus-14.
49ers player to watch
DE Leonard Floyd returns to Buffalo for the first time since leaving the Bills in free agency to sign with the 49ers in March. Floyd is playing his best ball of late with 3 1/2 sacks the past two games after having only three in his first nine games this season. Floyd had 10 1/2 sacks last season in his only year in Buffalo.
Bills player to watch
WR Amari Cooper. A left wrist injury and getting accustomed to the playbook has limited the 30-year-old to seven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown in three games since being acquired in a trade with Cleveland on Oct. 15. With a bye week to heal up and more than a month to build chemistry with Josh Allen, Cooper could finally be in a position to begin playing to his potential.
Key matchup
Niners' RB Christian McCaffrey vs. Bills run defense. Buffalo bottled up the Chiefs in limiting their ground game to 78 yards in a major sign of improvement a month after allowing 271 to Derrick Henry and the Ravens. McCaffrey and the 49ers' usually sturdy run game has yet to get on track, with last season's offensive player of the year limited to 149 yards rushing and 132 receiving. He has yet to score a TD in three games this season.
Key injuries
San Francisco QB Brock Purdy is expected to play after missing one game with a sore right shoulder. ... The Niners, however, ruled out five starters: DE Nick Bosa (hip, oblique), LT Trent Williams (ankle), LG Aaron Banks (concussion), DT Jordan Elliott (concussion) and CB Deommodore Lenoir (knee). ... The Bills ruled out TE Dalton Kincaid, who will miss his second game with a knee injury. ... Rookie WR Keon Coleman (right wrist) is listed as questionable and was still wearing a non-contact jersey in practice on Friday. ... RT Spencer Brown (ankle) was cleared to return after missing one game. ... The Bills have yet to decide whether to activate LB Matt Milano (torn left biceps) and rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter (left wrist) off IR.
Series notes
The Bills played the Niners in Arizona because of COVID-19 restrictions in California in 2020. It was Buffalo's second visit to Glendale in three weeks after a 32-30 loss to the Cardinals. ... The Bills beat San Francisco 45-16 in the Niners' most recent visit to Orchard Park, New York, in 2016, and are 3-2 overall at home. ... Buffalo has won the past two meetings with neither team having won three straight.
Stats and stuff
San Francisco has lost two straight and has a losing record this late in the season for the first time since going 6-10 in 2020. ... This is the fourth time this season that the 49ers are playing a team coming off a bye. They are 1-2 in the previous three. ... San Francisco had only 11 first downs last week, tied for the fewest in any game in eight seasons under Kyle Shanahan. ... The Niners have scored only three offensive TDs from outside the red zone this season, tied for the second fewest in the NFL. ... San Francisco ranks 10th worst in the NFL with 3.85 yards per carry in three games since McCaffrey returned after ranking fourth with 5.13 in the first eight weeks. ... The 44 yards rushing last week for the 49ers were their third fewest under Shanahan. ... TE George Kittle had his 509th catch last week, moving into third place in San Francisco history. ... Kittle leads the NFL with eight TD catches in the red zone, which is tied with Vernon Davis (2013) for the most in a season for a Niners player since at least 2000. ... The AFC East-leading Bills have won at least nine of their first 11 games for just the sixth time in team history, and first since 1992. Buffalo has been 10-2 or better just four times, the last in 1991. ... The Bills have won six straight for the first time since a 7-0 run to close the 2022 season. ... Buffalo has scored 30 or more points in five straight and a league-best eight times this season. The most recent time the Bills scored 30 or more in six straight outings happened in 2004. ... After not throwing an interception in his first seven outings, QB Josh Allen has five in his past four. He's 43-27 overall when committing a turnover. ... Allen has rushed for five TDs this season, increasing his total to 58 to rank second on the team list behind only Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas (65). ... With two TDs rushing in a 30-21 win over Kansas City two weeks ago, RB James Cook became Buffalo's first player to rush for 10 scores since LeSean McCoy had 13 in 2016. ... Buffalo's defense has forced at least one takeaway in each outing this season.
Fantasy tip
The Bills defense/special teams might be a sneaky good play, and not only if Brandon Allen starts in place of Purdy. Special teams could play a factor with Buffalo's Brandon Codrington ranking fourth in the NFL with 243 punt return yards, and the Niners ranking 32nd in allowing 16.4 yards per punt return and having already allowed a kickoff return for a TD.
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