Just as the San Francisco 49ers were getting back in the NFC playoff race, they got evicted.
Home field advantage might not mean that much in 2020, but it’s better than getting shooed out of your home operations to another state. The 49ers, who were told they could not practice in Santa Clara or play there for at least their next two home games, lost a neutral-field game in Arizona to the Buffalo Bills. The Bills rolled over San Francisco 34-24.
At 5-7, the 49ers season is all but done. That it virtually ended on a division rival’s field under the guise of a home game sums up the mess San Francisco’s season has been.
49ers had to play away from home
Had the 49ers only dealt with being barred from their home field this season, they might have been able to overcome that.
Injuries and players going on the reserve/COVID-19 list were the bigger problem. The 49ers have been shorthanded all season. Even though they had many players back by Monday, they were still without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tight end George Kittle and defensive end Nick Bosa, among others. This isn’t the team that won the NFC last season.
The Bills are good enough to take advantage of a shorthanded team. The 49ers really couldn’t get much going. San Francisco scored first to take a 7-0 lead, then the Bills scored 27 of the next 30 points. The 49ers looked like a team that was worn out, by being away from home and their families or losing a ton of key players through the year.
Their struggles on Monday night were understandable.
Bills have a great performance
The fact that the 49ers were playing a game in Arizona when they should have been the home team doesn’t diminish what the Bills did on Monday.
The Bills are 9-3. Their three losses came to the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans and on a Hail Mary to the Arizona Cardinals, strangely enough in the same stadium they beat the 49ers in on Monday. They have been impressive most of the season and Monday was one of their most complete performances.
Cole Beasley was hot early on and finished with 130 yards. Stefon Diggs was open all night and had 10 catches. Josh Allen hit everyone as he had a big game. Allen finished with 375 yards and four touchdowns. The Bills defense was very good against the 49ers too, containing the running game and making plays when it had to. When Tre’Davious White wrestled an interception out of the arms of 49ers back Jeff Wilson right at the goal line n the fourth quarter, that put the game away.
The Bills are likely going to the playoffs, and are the favorites to win the AFC East for the first time since 1995. The 49ers aren’t mathematically eliminated, but they might need to win out to make the playoffs. Considering the obstacles they have faced and will continue to face this season, that’s a tough ask.
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