The Buffalo Bills destroyed a desperate San Francisco 49ers team 35-10 at home on Sunday Night Football. The win is arguably Buffalo's most impressive during its seven-game winning streak. It improves the Bills to 10-2 on the year and secures a playoff spot for a fifth straight year. I took some liberties with the premise on this one; here are five stat categories from the dominating win.
Josh Allen
The Bills' signal caller had a game for the ages on Sunday night. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to have a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown, and receiving touchdown in the same game. The craziest part of the receiving score is that he technically threw it to himself on the lateral play from Amari Cooper. Allen also became the all-time touchdown leader in Bills' history with 245, passing Hall of Famer Jim Kelly. Allen has done that in less than seven seasons; he could legitimately make that record unbreakable.
Rushing Attack
James Cook's 65-yard touchdown run was the longest of his career. Despite the weather conditions, he was flying on the run. According to NextGenStats, he hit a top speed of 21.85 mph on that run, the seventh-fastest play by a ball carrier this season and the fastest by Cook in his career. Cook was also part of the Bills' rushing attack that racked up 220 yards, the most this season by 56 yards.
Career Year
It's become commonplace for wide receivers to have career years while playing with Josh Allen, and Mack Hollins could be the latest. His touchdown Sunday night was his fourth of the year; that ties a career-high. His 19 receptions are already the second most of his career, and the 231 yards are the third most—all of this with five games remaining in 2024.
Snap Count
I, and the rest of the free world, thought that the Bills would ease Matt Milano back into action after missing over a year of action. In his first game back, the linebacker played on 37 plays for a 77% snap share. The Boston College product was averaging 50 snaps per game to start 2023, coming off of an All-Pro season. It's a great sign that Sean McDermott, Bobby Babich, and Milano trusted he could handle that much action.
Playoffs
The Bills have clinched a playoff spot for the fifth straight year thanks to winning the AFC East for a fifth straight year. That's an accomplishment not even the teams led by Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith, and Marv Levy accomplished.
