ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Running back Christian McCaffrey refuses to buy into the doom and gloom surrounding the San Francisco 49ers since two straight losses sent them below .500.
“I think the vibe is probably a lot lower outside of this locker room than it is inside,” McCaffrey said this week about the 49ers, who are tied for last in the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams but one game behind first-place Seattle and Arizona.
“I think our team is hungry,” he added. “We still have everything in front of us and we’re ready to go.”
How hungry and how ready will be determined on Sunday night, when the 49ers head East for the third time in four weeks, this time to play the runaway AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills (9-2).
As challenges go for a team needing a late-season push just to make the playoffs — never mind entertain a second straight Super Bowl appearance — San Francisco has to deal with injuries to key players and a potential lake-effect snowstorm that could disrupt any game plan.
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy is expected to play after a sore throwing shoulder led him to sit out a 38-10 loss at Green Bay last week. The 49ers, however, have ruled out five starters, including top pass rusher Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) and left tackle Trent Williams (ankle).
The Buffalo region is under a lake-effect storm advisory with the prospect of 20 to 30 inches of snow falling over a 12-to-16-hour span starting Saturday.
“You’ve got to be ready for anything, just like you are with injuries,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “But we fully understand what the elements may be.”
Though the conditions will be the same for Buffalo, the Bills are accustomed to playing in the snow, having dealt with three major storms over the past two years. This January, the NFL had to push back by one day Buffalo’s 31-17 wild-card playoff win over Pittsburgh.
“If there’s anybody that’s done it enough, it’s me,” said quarterback Josh Allen, who is from central California but spent three college seasons at Wyoming. “I feel like I’m very comfortable with whatever weather elements are thrown our way.”
Very little has impeded the Bills on the way to to their best record through 11 games since 1992. Buffalo has won six straight and scored 30 or more points in each of its past five outings, and is one win from clinching its fifth straight division title.
Coach Sean McDermott did not envision being in a position to clinch the AFC East in Week 13. The Bills’ closest pursuer, Miami, lost at Green Bay Thursday night to fall to 5-7.
“I don’t think you think that far ahead, really,” McDermott said. “I’m certainly grateful for it. And I credit the players for the way that they’ve played.”
The Bills are rested, coming off their bye week. And they’re getting healthier, with the prospect of starting linebacker Matt Milano returning after missing 14 months with a broken leg and torn left biceps.
“Obviously, feeling confident about what we got going on here,” Allen said. “But we’re not into the playoffs yet, job’s not finished. And we’re just trying to find a way to go 1-0 this week.”
Run CMC
McCaffrey’s return was supposed to provide a major boost to San Francisco’s offense. It hasn’t happened yet. The 2023 AP Offensive Player of the Year has 149 yards rushing in three games back with his 3.5 yards per carry down significantly from last season’s average of 5.4. The Niners had ranked fourth in the NFL with 5.13 yards per carry in their first eight games with McCaffrey sidelined by Achilles tendinitis.
“When you lose and maybe you don’t jump out on the stat sheet, your failures are highlighted,” he said. “I’m happy I’m out here playing football and I just know with time it will come.”
Weather or not
Bills rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter said playing in the snow is nothing new for him, having grown up in Columbus, Ohio. That was before he was informed that lake-effect storms can easily drop several feet of snow in less than a day, depending on which way the wind’s blowing off Lake Erie.
“Yeah, that’s foreign,” Carter said. “Columbus is a little different when it comes to snow. Obviously, there’s no big lake or anything. But, you know, snow is snow.”
Missed tackles
The Niners were plagued by missing 19 tackles, per Pro Football Focus, in the loss to Green Bay. That helped Packers running back Josh Jacobs gain 83 of his 106 yards after contact. Linebacker Fred Warner, who revealed he has played the last seven games with a broken bone in his ankle, said the defense needs to get back to swarming to the ball.
“When you’re missing tackles, it’s not usually a problem when you got another guy or two right there ready to get them on the ground,” he said. “It’s a problem when there’s too much space there to let the runner continue to run.”
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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow, in Santa Clara, California, contributed to this report.
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