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

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— 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

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— 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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DENVER — The Browns head west for their second straight prime time game in two weeks as they prepare to take on the Denver Broncos on Monday night football.

Cleveland is coming off of a thrilling 24-19 Thursday night win over the Steelers at home. Denver has won its last two against the Falcons (38-6) and the Raiders (29-19).

Cleveland heads to Denver, however, without one of their key offensive weapons available, preparing to face an aggressive pass rush, and with history not on their side in this matchup.

Here are several storylines for the game, as well as predictions for how I think each might go:

The pass game options with one key player out

With Cedric Tillman (concussion) ruled out, the Browns pass game took a major hit.

In 11 games this season, Tillman has 29 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns, almost all in the last five games — he’s a player who’s really gotten to shine post-Amari Cooper trade.

Tillman left last Thursday night’s game against the Steelers after a helmet-to-helmet hit he took from linebacker Patrick Queen on the final play of the third quarter.

So who might Cleveland need to rely on with Tillman out?

My prediction: His absence very likely means more playing time for rookie receiver Jamari Thrash, a fifth-round pick who has one catch for 11 yards in four games.

Thrash has played only 38 offensive snaps this season, but has put in extra time before and after practices this year with Jameis Winston in the hopes of staying ready for any opportunity that might come his way.

“You’ve got to prepare like you’re a starter,” Thrash said on Friday. “You never know when your time is here, when it’s your moment.”

Of course, Winston will have to rely heavily on Jerry Jeudy, who will certainly be looking for revenge in this game going against the team that drafted him, and the team he asked to be traded from. The Browns will also need a big game from tight end David Njoku, who had just one catch for 9 yards against the Steelers last week.

The Broncos’ pass rush

The Broncos have one of the better defenses in the NFL right now.

They lead the league with sacks (44), and have nine players with 1.5 sacks or more. Fourteen players have at least half a sack.

They have the third-best overall defense (296 yards per game) and the third-best run defense when it comes to yards per play (3.82). They also have the third-best scoring defense (16.8 ppg)

Nik Bonitto leads the way with 10 sacks, and Jonathon Cooper isn’t far behind with seven.

On the interior they also have Zach Allen, who has the most pressures of any interior D-lineman (52) in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference tracking data, to go along with his five sacks.

My prediction: This is going to be the most pressure Jameis Winston has faced in a start yet this season — especially when you consider that T.J. Watt was basically a non-factor last week in Cleveland’s win over the Steelers.

Will that make Winston prone to mistakes against his former head coach Sean Payton? You could argue there are few opposing coaches across the league more equipped for game-planning for the gunslinger after their time together in New Orleans.

I’m predicting at least one turnover for Winston in this game, especially when you consider how well Denver’s rush and coverage work together.

Two-time Pro Bowler Pat Surtain is in the secondary, and he’s got three picks this year including a pick-six. According to PFF, he’s surrendered only 25 catches and 177 yards to opposing pass catchers this season.

A tough history in Denver

There’s no ignoring how bad the Browns have been in Denver historically.

Going back to 1970, the Browns are 4-14 playing in Denver (4-12 in the regular season).

Cleveland has won only once there since 1990, a 17-16 victory in 2018. Last year, they came away with a 29-12 loss.

My prediction: Maybe this is simply a weird correlation and there’s no causation.

But it’s hard for me to pick against history here, especially knowing how bad the Browns played at Mile High Stadium a year ago.

With the pass rush and Payton at the helm, I think this is a bad matchup for Cleveland.

I wouldn’t put it past the Browns to surprise us in prime time, but I would rather be incorrect picking with history. I’m going with the Broncos, 23-18.

In what seemed to be a matter of minutes, the Seattle Seahawks imploded in gruesome fashion on special teams at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, gifting the New York Jets 14 points with a pair of fumbles on kick returns as well as allowing a 99-yard touchdown in kick coverage.

Under such circumstances, teams rarely find a way to overcome such a litany of mistakes, especially against a team quarterbacked by future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. After receiver Laviska Shenault coughed up a fumble after tripping over a turf monster on a kick return with New York already ahead 21-7 midway through the second quarter, the game appeared to be teetering on the brink of a blowout with Seattle poised to endure a devastating Week 13 setback against a three-win opponent on the road.

But 10 months after being hired as the successor for Pete Carroll, after being dealt several tough losses earlier in his first season at the helm, players have taken on the persona and mindset of Mike Macdonald, believing they are never out of a game. If the first half was a recipe for disaster, the final two quarters provided the remedy with a steady dose of resiliency and mental toughness.

Unfazed by self-inflicted mistakes and oozing with confidence even when not playing close to their best, the Seahawks rallied with 19 unanswered points, starting with an unforeseen 92-yard interception returned for a touchdown by Leonard Williams. Capping off the stunning 26-21 comeback with an eight-yard touchdown run by Zach Charbonnet and a fourth down stop on defense inside the final two minutes, they seized victory from the jaws of defeat to the delight of their new head coach.

“I think that’s the first time that that ever happened in the NFL.
The whole series of events in the first half,” Macdonald told reporters after Seattle completed the furious rally. “But our guys were resilient, and we didn’t bat an eye,
we stayed the course. Had some crazy sequences of events that happened, but you have to
stick to the plan, you got to stay together, and our guys did that. Then to be able to close it out
was awesome for us, obviously.”

Championship teams find a way to win when they aren’t playing their best. But after two impressive victories over the 49ers and Cardinals launched them back into first place in the NFC West, the Seahawks certainly weren’t humming at anywhere close to peak performance in East Rutherford.

Sleep walking in their final 10 AM Pacific time start on the schedule, a face mask penalty against Williams negated a third down sack of Rodgers on the Jets second possession, extending the drive and leading to a touchdown pass to Davante Adams. On the ensuing kickoff, rookie returner Dee Williams had the ball punched out of his hands near the sideline, allowing Brandin Echols to recover the fumble deep in Seahawks territory.

Four plays later, Rodgers connected with running back Isaiah Davis on a shovel pass for a four-yard touchdown and after Breece Hall punched the ball in for a two-point conversion, Seattle quickly found itself down 14 before the end of the first quarter.

While the Seahawks threw a punch back with Geno Smith rolling out to his left and answering Rodgers’ second touchdown pass with one of his own to rookie tight end AJ Barner, the Jets responded in emphatic fashion with Kene Nwangwu rocketing through a large crease and using a pair of late blocks to find the end zone on a 99-yard kickoff return, pushing the lead back to two scores in a matter of seconds.

Two plays later, Shenault bobbled the initial catch at the goal line and then lost control of the ball when he hit the ground after tripping up, allowing kicker Anders Carlson to pounce on the fumble. Living out the ultimate nightmare between the lines, it would have been easy for Seattle fold at that point with Rodgers needing to drive his team just 38 yards for another touchdown to potentially ice the game before halftime intermission.

However, the Seahawks weren’t about to let that happen. With their backs against the wall, as they have done several times over the course of the season, the defense rose to the occasion. After the Jets advanced inside the 10-yard line, Rodgers failed to see Williams dropping back into coverage on a zone blitz, and following an initial bobble, the veteran defender secured the unlikely interception and took off for the races behind a convoy of blockers, hitting north of 17 miles per hour as he sprinted nearly the full distance of the field for a game-changing six points.

“He was moving,” safety Julian Love said of Williams. “I know we threw some great blocks, but I don’t think anyone would have
caught him anyways. That’s the big cat man. He’s playing at such a high level right now.”

With momentum changing sides in an instant, Seattle promptly stopped New York in its tracks on the next possession. Deciding to go for it on 4th and 2 near midfield, Adams couldn’t haul in a deep ball from Rodgers after gaining separation along the sideline and failed to secure the pass as he fell to the ground, leading to a turnover on downs.

Though the offense couldn’t sustain the drive after a Charbonnet 11-yard run, kicker Jason Myers booted a 54-yard field goal over the crossbar, sending the Seahawks into the locker room down just five points despite all of the aforementioned miscues. That made it easy for Macdonald to convey the message to his team to stay the course coming out of the break.

“It might have been the craziest first half of all time and we’re down, you
know, whatever amount of points it was like five points or something, and so, just kind of stick to
the plan and let’s go,” Macdonald said.

Unfortunately for Seattle, the waters didn’t suddenly become smooth sailing at the start of the third quarter with more adversity striking. After the defense forced a quick punt, Smith orchestrated a 12-play, 72-yard drive that ultimately ended with no points as New York stiffened up near the goal line and sacked the quarterback on a poorly executed 4th and goal sprint out pass, leaving the visitors empty handed and still trailing by five.

But following the missed golden opportunity in the red zone, Love came through in the clutch, punching the ball out of Hall’s hands at the end of an 11-yard run, allowing linebacker Tyrice Knight to recover the fumble at the Seahawks 41-yard line. A 24-yard completion by Smith to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on 4th and 6 kept the drive alive, allowing Myers to connect on his second field goal and further trim the deficit to two points early in the fourth quarter.

Providing the opportunity to close out the comeback, Seattle’s defense pitched forced another three-and-out after Myers field goal. Aided by a pair of costly fourth down penalties by New York, including a horse collar penalty on Solomon Thomas that wiped out a fourth down run stop in Jets territory, Charbonnet capped off a nine-play drive breaking multiple tackles and powering his way into the end zone for an eight-yard scoring run to jump in front by five.

The Jets wouldn’t go quietly, as Rodgers turned a 3rd and 26 situation into a new set of downs in two plays and guided the offense all the way to the opposing 29-yard line with a chance to still pull off the upset. But Williams finished off a historic outing with his second sack of the drive and a hit by blitzing safety Coby Bryant led to an airmailed fourth down desperation throw out of the back of the end zone, securing a win that didn’t seem plausible earlier in the afternoon.

As Macdonald reiterated several times after the game, the Seahawks will have to go back to the drawing board and clean up problems in all three phases, as they won’t be able to withstand all of the gaffes they committed on Sunday against better teams with five games left. Playing to their dismal record, the Jets certainly did their part allowing a potentially season-saving win to slip from their grasp with seven straight possessions ending in a turnover or punt and a bunch of defensive flags.

Still, winning in the NFL isn’t easy, and Seattle showed the rest of the NFL that it has the resolve required to compete for championships on Sunday. With another tough road trip to Arizona on tap next weekend for a key divisional rematch, as the stakes continued to be raised and the calendar moves towards January, these are the types of victories that could carry Macdonald’s team to new heights entering crunch time.

“We talk about December football and this is when you want to be playing your best ball. I

wouldn’t say this is our best game, but we won, and that’s all that matters, so it’s about stacking

those wins and you got to play a certain brand of ball to win in December and this is all you can

ask for, is a chance to take it home down the stretch.”

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