The San Francisco 49ers were reeling from their 38-10 loss in Week 12 to the Green Bay Packers coming into Week 13.
The Niners' Sunday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo Bills in Week 13 was always going to be tough. The 49ers knew they would be playing on the road in snowy weather against one of the best teams in the AFC.
San Francisco's 35-10 loss in Week 13 might have been worse than the final score. Between the opening kickoff and the final whistle, the 49ers played an extremely sloppy game.
Let's look at three reasons that the game got out of hand quickly.
Christian McCaffrey reinjured
Running back Christian McCaffrey, the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, missed the first eight games of the 2024 season due to injury.
He finally returned in Week 10 to a depleted roster ravaged by injuries. He had a great game in Week 11 against the Seattle Seahawks, gaining over 100 scrimmage yards. However, the All-Pro was all but shut out the following week against the Packers.
In this game against Buffalo, McCaffrey was off to a hot start. He rushed for 53 yards on seven carries. On the 49ers' second offensive drive of the game, with 11:23 left in the second quarter, McCaffey injured his knee on a non-contact play.
He would not return to the game. The Niners were down only 7-3 at that point and driving down the field.
They only mustered one more score the whole rest of the game without McCaffrey.
Without CMC, they couldn't get any offense going. And even when the Niners inexplicably did, something debilitating would happen.
That takes us to the second reason why things went wrong.
More 49ers turnovers
On the opening drive of the third quarter, San Francisco came out swinging.
Wide receiver Deebo Samuel returned the opening kickoff of the second half 60 yards to Buffalo's 37-yard line.
A couple of plays later, the 49ers found themselves on the 4-yard line ready to score. Then a bad handoff led to fullback Kyle Juszczyk losing a fumble at the goal line and an almost perfect drive coming to a close.
Early in the fourth quarter, quarterback Brock Purdy fumbled on a play in which the ball just seemed to slip out of his hands.
The next time the 49ers got the ball, Samuel took another kickoff back for a 28-yard return then lost a fumble while being brought down.
It is extremely difficult to win against a team like Buffalo when playing a perfect game. So being minus-3 in the turnover battle was the kiss of death, particularly with Bills quarterback Josh Allen having MVP-like moments throughout.
49ers can't stop the run
Another key area that caused the 49ers to lose was their inability to stop the run.
Bills running back James Cook went for over 100 yards rushing in the first half. He finished the game with 107 yards rushing and one touchdown. He averaged 7.6 yards per carry for the game.
The No. 2 running back on the Bills, Ray Davis, also rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown. Buffalo had 220 yards rushing as a team.
The 49ers just couldn't seem to contain whoever was carrying the ball for the Bills.
All those things combined in a game in which the odds were already stacked against them, was a recipe for disaster for the Niners.
The 49ers will have to regroup quickly as they return home to face the Chicago Bears next week. With a season that is over for all intents and purposes, the Week 14 game will be for pride more than anything.