San Francisco 49ers
Make no mistake, facing off against the reigning NFC champion and Super Bowl runner-up is no easy feat. However, the game is not nearly as important to the Bills’ season as the next two games on this list.
The Bills will play the 49ers in San Francisco on December 7 as a part of ESPN’s Monday Night Football. The game will kickoff around 8:15pm ET. If they Bills want to prove that they are ready to compete with the big boys, this game will be one of many litmus tests.
On paper, the 49ers are a complete team who were about 10 or so minutes away from hoisting a sixth Lombardi trophy. The team went 13-3 in the regular season behind a quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo who threw for 3,978 yards and 27 touchdowns with a passer rating of 102.0. One eye-popping stat for Garoppolo is that the signal caller threw for 13 interceptions last season, four more than Josh Allen.
The team also has a monster rushing attack with running back Raheem Moestert leading the way. Moestert had a breakout year in 2019, totaling 772 yards and eight touchdowns on 137 attempts. His real breakout performance came in the NFC championship game of last season. In that game Moestert dominated the ground game, rushing for 220 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries.
San Francisco’s defense is nothing to laugh at either, as the unit was ranked second overall in 2019. Playing the game on the road does not make things any easier for the Bills.
However, this game is surprisingly winnable for the Bills. Buffalo’s defense has been playing at an elite level for the past three seasons. If they continue to do so in 2020, then stopping San Francisco’s rushing attack should be their first priority. Making Garoppolo throw the ball more than he usually does has been a recipe for success if a team is to beat Kyle Shanahan’s squad, just ask the Seahawks and Chiefs.