Bills-49ers Report Card
Grading the Bills
Running game
A A third straight strong effort by the line. Lynch had season-high 134 yards on 16 carries. Too bad coaches weren’t smart enough to run more in red zone.
Passing game
D Edwards was bad and Losman wasn’t any better. Even Losman wouldn’t throw the ball down the field. Of 21 combined completions, 13 were under 10 yards.
Run defense
A Did terrific job holding Gore in check. Gore averaged just 2.8 yards on 24 rushes and didn’t have a run longer than 12 yards.
Pass defense
C Allowed Hill to convert three straight third downs on opening TD drive. Shut the door after that. Pass rush was decent. Kelsay had his best game.
Special teams
F Lindell had game he’d like to forget, hitting left crossbar on field-goal attempts from 20 and 40 yards. First miss was his first in 53 tries inside 40.
Coaching
F Frustrated Lee Evans questioned play-calling in the red zone. Jauron blamed miscommunication for squandered timeouts. Whose fault is that?
Grading the 49ers
Running game
C-Gore had 14 runs of 2 or fewer yards. Have to give 49ers credit for sticking with it. Bills could have used 2-yard run near goal line.
Passing game
C Hill looked sharp early, completing several big throws in opening TD drive. Didn’t force throws and didn’t throw an interception.
Run defense
C-Couldn’t keep Lynch in check, seemed to wear down in second half. Lucky the Bills didn’t make more of an effort near the goal line.
Pass defense
B+ Did solid job of keeping the Bills’ receivers from getting behind them. Of course, that’s not the most difficult task nowadays.
Special teams
B-Lee dropped three punts inside the 20. McKelvin got his hands on only one kickoff. Do they get credit for Lindell blowing his two kicks?
Coaching
B First West Coast team to win a game in the Eastern time zone this season. Players said coaches had them prepared for Bills’ offense in red zone. — By News football writers
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