SF 49ers vs. Bills: 5 biggest disappointments from Week 13 loss

The SF 49ers watched their playoff hopes take a huge hit in Week 13 by losing in lopsided fashion to the Bills on Monday Night Football.

The SF 49ers‘ defensive efforts in Week 13 on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills could be summed up by that famous quote from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, “Well, that escalated quickly.”

Quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills offense surely escalated and then some against a Niners defense that entered the game with the NFL’s fourth-best defense against the pass.

Only to see Allen and Co. reach 375 passing yards with four touchdowns against zero interceptions. Buffalo only punted once during the game and actually went 2-of-3 on fourth-down conversion attempts, too.

That was only part of the story, though.

What initially looked like a prime-time classic in the first quarter quickly devolved into a Bills rout of the now 5-7 SF 49ers, who are still alive in the NFC playoff picture. But only barely. And the 34-24 outcome makes the game seem much closer than it actually was, as a good chunk of the Niners’ offensive numbers came well into garbage time after Buffalo got out to a comfortable lead in the third quarter.

The loss itself surely was a disappointment. But there are other, bigger disappointments from the game that stand out from what was San Francisco’s first “home” game away from Levi’s Stadium since Super Bowl LIV.

And we won’t go there.

Yes, it’s important to credit Allen and the Bills for doing almost everything right and dominating the SF 49ers in nearly every aspect. But it’s also important to call out some of the Niners’ own disappointments in the wake of what was supposed to be a season-defining game for head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co.

Here are five tough ones we have to get through.