Cutline: Josh Allen interrupted coach Sean McDermott to make snow angels during his post-game interview on ESPN. McDermott obliged (more photos in story). Photo by Anglio Allen/Buffalo Bills.
By CHUCK POLLOCK, Wellsville Sun Senior Sports Columnist
Normally, the overriding story of Sunday night’s game between the 49ers and Bills at Highmark Stadium would have been the weather … period.
Two feet of snow in the uncovered seats, game-long squalls that left the A-Turf Titan 50 surface slippery enough that the game was often played at half speed and temperatures in the 20s assured that the 70,437 observers were decidedly uncomfortable.
The salve was Buffalo’s 35-10 win that guaranteed it of a fifth straight AFC East title, and the seventh straight victory improved the Bills to 10-2, one game behind Kansas City (11-1), which has the disadvantage of a head-to-head loss to the team chasing the Chiefs.
But it won’t be the weather, or the clinching, or the one-sidedness of the score that will make this game memorable.
Instead, it was a bizarre second-half play that evoked the memory of of KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Buffalo faced a first-and-goal at the Niners 7-yard line and quarterback Josh Allen threw wide receiver Amare Cooper an off-target pass that brought him back two yards.
Cooper caught the ball with his right hand and as he drew it into his body, three San Francisco defenders moved in for the tackle. Allen trailing the play, made a signal to Cooper who lateraled him the ball and he motored nine yards into the end zone, clipping the pylon as he dove by.
The play produced a result that had happened only three times previously in NFL history. Allen was credited with a touchdown pass and a TD reception and Cooper got no credit for anything.
Allen became the first NFL quarterback to have a rushing, passing and receiving touchdown in the same game.
Meanwhile, he made other history. Besides the two touchdowns on one play, he rushed for another score (8 yards) and threw a 7-yard pass to Mack Hollins and the four TDs broke the tie with Jim Kelly (244) for the all-time record for franchise touchdowns and put him on top with 248.
Of the fateful, TD pass/reception play, Allen recalled, “I threw a bad ball and I was just worried that it was going to get tipped up in the air, so I was kind of chasing it just to be there. Amari made a heckuva catch and he tossed me the ball and I just had to make a play.”
As Cooper recalled, “I was wondering what he was doing over there … that doesn’t usually happen. I just saw him and I figured he wanted the ball so I just gave it to him.”
Coach Sean McDermott recalled of the play, “When I saw that happening, I thought, ‘Aw, Jeez, here we go.’ That was just two veteran players with great symmetry.”
When NBC’s Melissa Stark told Allen he was credited with two TDs on one play, Allen wondered, “Is that how they score it? That’s pretty cool.”
And when she told him analyst Chris Collinsworth was pretty excited about that double scoring because he had started Allen in his fantasy pool, the seventh-year quarterback, added, “I love that … so did I.”
As for the result, McDermott admitted, “We knew it was going to be a line-of-scrimmage game and I applaud our offensive line in particular.
“Offensively, to run that football the way we did when they knew we were going to run it because of the conditions (was impressive).”
Buffalo opted for a six-man line most of the game and totaled 220 rushing yards on 38 carries (including kneel-downs), 107 of them by James Cook on 14 carries with a 65-yard touchdown, and 63 more by Ray Davis on 11 tries with a TD. Allen added that 8-yard score.
As for the Bills early-clinching of the division title, Allen noted, “This one feels a bit different because it’s still early in the season … we’ve still got five games left. The cool thing about it is we can just go out there and play pretty … there are no repercussions for what we’re doing but we’re still chasing the (No.) 1 seed and we’ve got to keep getting better every week.
“ It’s going to be fun to go out there and play free and play relaxed … that can be a dangerous team.”
NOTES FROM the Bills’ 35-10 victory over the 49ers, Sunday night at snowy Highmark Stadium:
— The Bills are now 8-0 coming out of the bye in Sean McDermott’s eight years as Bills coach.
— After the game, McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen laid down on the field and made snow angels.
(Notebook continues after photos)
Of the Bills 10 wins, they have prevailed by at least 30 points in nine of them. The only exception was the 23-20 victory over the Jets.
— Buffalo’s second touchdown was a 65-yard rush by running back James Cook, the longest of his three-season career. He now has 12 TDs, 11 on the ground, in 13 games.
— The Bills first takeaway came on San Francisco’s initial possession of the second half. 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, trying to score from the Buffalo 1-yard line, had the ball knocked loose by safety Taylor Rapp with cornerback Christian Benford recovering.
Buffalo’s second takeaway occurred when 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had the ball slip from his hand as he tried to throw with edge rusher Greg Rousseau recovering.
The third was a fumble on a kickoff return by Deebo Samuel, caused by safety Cole Bishop with wide receiver Jalen Virgil covering it.
— The 49ers lost All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey to a knee injury in the first half after rushing seven times for 53 yards, almost eight per carry. He did not return.
— Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins scored his team-leading fourth touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half.
— Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin lost a first-half interception when he was called for illegal contact on 49ers tight end George Kittle.
— The Bills lone sack of Purdy was recorded by veteran edge rusher Greg Rousseau who leads the teams with 6½.
— San Francisco kicker Jake Moody missed two of his three field attempts. Buffalo’s Buffalo’s Tyler Bass missed his only attempt (49 yards) but was 5-for-5 in extra points.
— Linebacker Terrel Bernard had a game-high nine tackles, fellow backer Matt Milano had five (3 solos) in his return and Hamlin had five tackles, all solos, a game high.
— Former Bills quarterback Doug Flutie was the leader of the pregame charge.
— Inactive for the Bills were tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee), wide receiver Keon Coleman (wrist), cornerback Kaiir Elam, quarterback Mike White, linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio, edge rusher Javon Solomon and tackle Will Clapp.
Out for the 49ers were tackle Trent Williams (ankle), guard Aaron Banks (concussion), edge rusher Nick Bosa (hip/oblique) defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (concussion), cornerback Decommodore Lenior (knee), linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee) and quarterback Brandon Allen. Williams, Banks, Bosa, Elliott and Lenoir were starters.
Coming into the game San Francisco had lost 37 man-games this season by former Pro Bowl players.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun and Olean Star senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
