The Buffalo Bills look to keep their three-game winning streak rolling as the San Francisco 49ers will come to Buffalo to take on the Bills. The Bills have pushed their record on the season to 3-2 while the 49ers currently sit at 1-4 good enough for the last place in the NFC West. The Bills come off of a 30-19 victory; their third win of the season coming at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. A game that saw the Bills continue their dominant play on each side of the ball. This the same Rams team whom the 49ers defeated in week one for their first and only win of the season. This matchup will feature two teams trending in very different directions as the Bills come in winners of three straight and the 49ers losers of four straight.
This matchup will feature two of the top ten run teams in the league as the Bills currently sit third while the 49ers are eighth in the NFL. The Bills run game has been in large part carried thanks to the play of LeSean McCoy who has shown no stages of slowing down even after eclipsing the 8,000-yard rushing milestone for his career last week. On the season McCoy is currently fourth in the league in rushing with 447 yards on the ground, while also leading all rushers in the top in yards per attempt. McCoy explained, “One of the biggest things I think is tempo. Coach Lynn is big on tempo, get on the line of scrimmage, getting the calls, getting the checks, having enough time to do that.” The play of McCoy is definitely not lost amongst his teammates, as quarterback Tyrod Taylor has taken notice of the rejuvenated back. “He’s definitely playing with an extra burst, and you could tell last year like you said, the hamstring was definitely bothering him on certain runs,” explained Taylor. “He couldn’t get back to some of the holes that he was trying to get to, and I think this year he’s definitely seeing them and getting back to them with his feet as well.”
On the opposing side, the 49ers defense has struggled, to say the least as they rank near the bottom of the league in most defensive categories, most notably ranking thirty-first in rushing yards allowed per game. Though most importantly for the 49ers in this matchup will be their play on the offensive side of the ball. Making a change at quarterback from Blaine Gabbert to the well known and former super bowl starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick has made headlines. Most notably Kaepernick has been known for his actions off of the football field. As far as the on-field product the 49ers greatest strength thus far has been their run game, something that can take a hit due to the quarterback change. Gabbert thus far is second on the team in rushing on the season with 172 yards on the ground and leading the team with 4.4 yards per carry. With Kaepernick at the helm coming off of injury his willingness to run and take hits is something that remains to be seen as well as just how often if any Chip Kelly will want to see his new quarterback running the ball.
As strong as the Niners run game has been the Bills defense in recent weeks has been nearly impeccable giving up only 12 points per game over their winning streak. The play of Lorenzo Alexander, Nickell Robey-Coleman, and Zach Brown has truly catapulted the play of this unit. Lorenzo Alexander currently leads the NFL in sacks after coming off of a three-sack performance against the Rams while only to be outdone by the AFC defensive player of the week Robey-Coleman. Robey-Coleman brings home the hardware a week after Brown giving the Bills back-to-back DPOW awards for the first time since 1991 when Cornelius Bennett and Nate Odomes earned back-to-back honors—also in Weeks Four and Five.
The play of Alexander, a free-agent signing in particular has caught the eye of the coaching staff, “We had him as a guy who was going to be a leader on special teams, almost a Pro Bowl type performer on special teams which by the way you can check that box he is still continuing to dominate on special teams and have some kind of role for us on defense, and that was all we told him. And when he came in here he just outplayed everybody and so he earned that job, he took that job,” said Bills head coach Rex Ryan.
The key for the Bills in this one will be sticking to the same winning formula that they have had for the previous three weeks, stingy defense and a strong run game. As far as the 49ers they are looking for any momentum they can pick up on the season and are hoping that the change at quarterback can breathe fresh air into a struggling team. Early on though the numbers are swinging far in the Bill’s favor, something Rex Ryan and the Bills are sure to like.
