The 49ers are in a precarious position when they travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills this Sunday night. The Niners have enjoyed success over the past seasons, but this year it could be coming to an end.
San Francisco needs to make a statement with a win this Sunday or they risk losing all hope for a playoff push. This will not be easy going against one of the top teams in the league.
With the desperate 49ers traveling to Buffalo to take on the powerhouse Bills, let’s take a closer look at the game. Here’s our preview, which includes a prediction, using the best NFL odds from the top sportsbooks.
NFL Pick: Under 44.5 (-110) at Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
49ers vs. Bills
Sunday, December 01, 2024 – 08:20 PM ET at Highmark Stadium
San Francisco 49ers
The end of the current run on top of the NFL might be here for the San Francisco 49ers. Injuries have decimated this team and the team they fielded on Sunday against the Packers barely resembled the team that made the Super Bowl last season.
The 49ers were missing three of their top players in OL Trent Williams, DE Nick Bosa, and QB Brock Purdy. All three of those players are questionable for this primetime showdown.
Without Nick Bosa and the lineup, the 49ers defense looked like Swiss cheese against the Green Bay Packers.
Packers RB Josh Jacobs ran for three TDs and Packers QB Jordan Love threw for two touchdowns. It was a thorough rout, and if the 49ers do not get their best players healthy again, they could be in for another embarrassing loss this Sunday.
The 49ers’ reluctance to let big-name players walk might have been their downfall, destroying their salary cap and their hope for this season.
San Francisco paid wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk big money, taking up a significant portion of their salary cap. They invested more draft capital in wide receivers when they used their first-round pick on Ricky Pearsall.
The 49ers have overpaid two wide receivers and used too much draft capital on wide receivers and now are suffering the results of ignoring the most important positions of football, the offensive and defensive lines.
The 49ers haven’t won the battle upfront lately, and without Williams or Bosa in the lineup, they will probably lose against the Bills. Keep an eye on these two players’ status going into this game.
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are 9-2 this season. They are first in the AFC East and they will be well rested going into this game coming off of a bye.
The Bills are on a six-game winning streak, their most recent outing being a 30-21 win over the previously undefeated Chiefs. The Buffalo Bills are a juggernaut and look to deal a knockout blow to the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday.
The Bills’ weakness this season was thought to be their defense, but head coach Sean McDermott has done an excellent job getting that unit to play tough.
The Bills employ a variety of defensive schemes and keep opposing offenses off balance. The Buffalo defense also has the advantage of having an electric offense on the other side of the field.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen and the rest of his offense are consistently putting up points, putting opposing teams in tough situations that the defense can take advantage of. The Bills play complementary football well, and their strong offense makes life easier on the defense.
Key Matchup
If the 49ers are going to get the win this week, they’re going to need to be able to run the ball and keep their time of possession high.
The 49ers’ time of possession was laughable against the Green Bay Packers. Against the Packers, the 49ers only had the ball for 23 of the 60 minutes of football played.
The 49ers are going to need to keep their defense off the field and be more successful on offense if they’re going to want to have a chance against the Buffalo Bills.
If the 49ers are able to establish their run game and slow the tempo of the game down, they will have a chance to keep this game close. If the 49ers cannot establish the run and are constantly throwing the football, the Bills will run away with another easy victory.
The Pick
This is a tough game to handicap this early in the week because of the 49ers’ unknown injury situation with a majority of their best players being listed as questionable. Therefore, I think the smart move in this game is to take the Under.
If the 49ers do not get Brock Purdy back under center, their offense will be non-existent.
Even if Purdy is healthy, he will most likely be playing at less than 100% and not be the effective quarterback that the 49ers have become accustomed to.
In short, this is a terrible situation for the 49ers and the Bills will probably deal the death blow upon their season. The Bills will probably run away with this game in a rout but the best way to approach it is to take the Under 44.5.
NFL Pick: Under 44.5 (-110) at Bet365
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