San Francisco, CA
Maiocco's 49ers Report Card: Team grades in crushing loss to Bills
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — These are the cold, hard facts.
The 49ers received another snowball upside their heads — figuratively and, perhaps, literally — when the Buffalo Bills hit them with a 35-10 beatdown at snowy Highmark Stadium.
Their second blowout loss in a row played out in front of a national television audience on Sunday night.
It was the second blowout loss the 49ers absorbed in back-to-back trips to Green Bay and Buffalo — the two coldest-weather locales in the NFL. A week ago, the 49ers lost to the Packers, 38-10.
The 49ers lost back-to-back games by 25 points or more for only the fourth time in franchise history and the first time since 2015 when the Jim Tomsula-coached team was blasted by Pittsburgh (43-18) and Arizona (47-7) in Weeks 2 and 3.
Here is the report card from their Week 13 loss to the Bills:
Rushing offense
The 49ers felt their best chance of winning this game was to run the ball down the throats of a Bills defense that is susceptible on the ground.
San Francisco largely succeeded in that area. Christian McCaffrey gained 53 yards on seven carries before leaving with a potentially season-ending injury to the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Jordan Mason led the 49ers with 78 yards on 13 carries. Isaac Guerendo added 19 yards and a touchdown on four attempts.
Isaac Guerendo gets the 49ers in the end zone 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ZGSHRE6U5G
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 2, 2024
On the negative side, fullback Kyle Juszczyk fumbled at the goal line in the third quarter to prevent the 49ers from closing the gap to a two-score game.
Grade: C-plus
Passing offense
First, the 49ers’ passing game gets credit for not committing any turnovers.
Brock Purdy committed one giveaway when the ball slipped out of his hand as he attempted to throw a pass on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Jauan Jennings had 56 yards receiving on three catches.
Fourth and Jauan 😤 pic.twitter.com/6htpbNFywn
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) December 2, 2024
Tight end George Kittle caught a 7-yard pass from Purdy on the 49ers’ first offensive play of the game. He did not have another reception the entire game.
Purdy completed 11 of 18 passes for 94 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Grade: D
Rushing defense
The game turned in the second quarter when the 49ers’ run defense was gashed for James Cook’s 65-yard touchdown run. On that play, linebacker Jalen Graham and safety Ji’Ayir Brown had their chances to stop Cook near the line of scrimmage.
Cooks had 100 yards rushing on nine carries in the first half.
Quick 65-yard run to celly with a snow angel.
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/N0aAWEEHjQ
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 2, 2024
The Bills finished the game with 220 rushing yards on 38 carries for a gaudy 5.8-yard average.
Grade: F
Passing defense
The Bills did not throw too much but they succeeded whenever Josh Allen dropped back to throw.
Allen’s big arm helped him cut through the wind against the 49ers’ short-handed defense.
Allen completed 13 of 17 pass attempts for 148 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He had a passer rating of 141.3. Allen was even credited with a touchdown pass to himself when Amari Cooper lateraled the ball back to him after a short third-quarter pass.
THIS IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING WE HAVE EVER SEEN.
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/LzaOt3MDLj
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 2, 2024
The 49ers got only one hit on Allen, and that came from undrafted rookie Evan Anderson in his first start.
Grade: F
Special teams
It’s difficult to place too much blame on kicker Jake Moody, considering the weather conditions.
But he did miss field goals of 45 and 55 yards in the first half.
Deebo Samuel tried to give the 49ers a spark to open the second half with a 60-yard kickoff return. But he also lost a fumble on a kickoff return early in the fourth quarter.
Grade: D
Coaching
The 49ers had the right idea to keep the ball on the ground. But one highly debatable decision that killed the 49ers came when coach Kyle Shanahan put the ball in the hands of a player who had just three carries coming into the game.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk fumbled on a first-and-goal play from the Buffalo 4-yard line early in the third quarter when Taylor Rapp punched the ball loose.
Goal line stand. 😤
📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/hJ0qQi4W51
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) December 2, 2024
Granted, Mason was out of the game. But rookie running back Isaac Guerendo, who entered the game with 38 carries this season, should have gotten the call over Juszczyk.
But, clearly, that play call did not cost the 49ers the game. Generally, the 49ers had the right idea from a tactical standpoint. They just did not have the players to compete with the Bills.
Grade: C-minus
Overall
Did you expect anything else?
The 49ers have not been good this season, period. And they were short-handed and going up against one of the best NFL teams.
A botched play from the 49ers’ run defense while Fred Warner was out of the game and a fumble at the goal line were the plays that stood out and prevented them from keeping it close.
The loss drops the 49ers (5-7) another game behind the Seattle Seahawks (7-5) in the NFC West.
Grade: F
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San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder will resume her duties next week after taking a three-month leave of absence due to mental health.
“I’m coming clear-eyed and grounded and eager to serve in this role again,” Fielder said in a video posted to social media Tuesday.
Fielder was first elected in 2024 to serve District 9, which includes the Mission District and Bernal Heights and Portola neighborhoods. In late March of this year, her staffers announced she was taking a leave of absence to address an “acute personal health crisis” after missing a few weeks of Board of Supervisors meetings.
“I left the work that I love so much, not because I wanted to, but because my mental health demanded it, and I say that with no shame,” she said.
In the video statement, Fielder mentioned that the pressure of serving as a supervisor took a toll on her mental health.
“I’ve often felt like the weight of this district and city is on my shoulders, and I, through this leave, have had the silver lining of understanding that it never has,” she said. “I was going 100 miles an hour since early 2023 when I started the campaign for supervisor, and being a grassroots candidate is a lot of elbow grease.”
Fielder’s staff continued some of the work in her district while she was gone. She thanked her colleagues and Mayor Daniel Lurie for their support and allowing her to be excused from meetings.
Fielder will return to work Monday and appear at the June 30 board meeting. She is also expected to host listening sessions in her district through July.
“I am an example that it is possible to come back and heal,” she said. “I could not be more honored to serve and more ready to serve.”
San Francisco, CA
Where to watch Athletics vs San Francisco Giants: TV channel, start time, streaming for June 23
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Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has already proven doubters wrong by launching 17 home runs, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes consistently looks like the best version of himself on the mound and Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski is throwing harder than any starter in the majors.
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First pitch between the San Francisco Giants and Athletics is scheduled for 9:45 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, June 23.
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An abandoned house near San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood that has been popular with squatters for years is now for sale.
On Yukon Street at the edge of Kite Hill in the Eureka Valley neighborhood, the house with arched windows over the garage, including one that’s broken, is listed for $1.3 million.
Listing agent Zara Rowbotham and her brother, James, put together a promotional video highlighting the home’s fixer-upper potential.
There is no running water or power at the house. Neighbors have reported to the city that squatters relieve themselves at the top floor atrium.
“They needed a place to do it, so they had the nice manners to do it in one basket,” Rowbotham said. “Unfortunately it was an outside basket right in front of one of the neighbors’ houses.”
With the nature of San Francisco’s red-hot housing market, Rowbothom said they already have a potential buyer.
Rowbothom added the city is swirling with money right now and there are few places to buy, so properties like the one on Yukon Street – even with a history of squatters – are being snapped up quickly. Rowbothom said they’re going for millions of dollars, with people paying cash a lot of the time.
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