Predicted to be a potential Super Bowl matchup in the offseason, 49ers-Bills is now a game between one team that has lived up to that billing and another that has been too injured to do so.
Since starting 3-0, only to follow with two losses that rattled some confidence built during their start, the Bills have won six consecutive games to lead the AFC East by a wide margin over Miami.
Buffalo has outscored opponents by 106 points this season, the NFL’s second-highest scoring differential, trailing only Detroit (plus-177), thanks to a defense that is one of only nine across the league to hold opponents to less than 20 points per game on average.
Buffalo also has protected its MVP-candidate quarterback, Josh Allen, who has thrown for 18 touchdowns against five interceptions.
San Francisco, in contrast, has never found a stretch this season where things have settled down, having yet to win consecutive games all season. With star back Christian McCaffrey hurt the first eight weeks and multiple receivers injured for various stretches, the 49ers have gone from averaging 28.9 points per game last season, third-best, to 23.6 this season, which ranks 13th.
