San Francisco lost for their 4th-straight game last Sunday, a 33-21 loss to Arizona. Buffalo won their 3rd-straight game with a 30-19 win at Los Angeles last week.
In a move reeking of equal parts desperation and necessity, the 49ers will employ QB Colin Kaepernick as their starter this week. He hasn’t played meaningful snaps since early last season, with poor results. He dealt with offseason knee, shoulder and thumb injuries and lacks strength. He’ll need all of it against a defense that has allowed 27 total points during their 3-game winning streak. He also has to deal with a rejuvenated pass rush that has 17 sacks this season, just 4 fewer than they had in 2015. OLB Lorenzo Alexander has an NFL-leading 7 sacks and DT Marcell Dareus is also expected back for this contest. RB Carlos Hyde is the main weapon for the offense and he should receive a lot of touches in this encounter. He has scored 6 of the team’s 13 offensive TDs and along with WR Jeremy Kerley, is the only productive players on offense. However, the Bills allow only 3.5 ypc so he might find the running tough inside.
Buffalo’s offense changed immediately when Anthony Lynn was named off. co. replacing the fired Greg Roman. The Bills have averaged 178 yards rushing per game under his watch, more than 100 yards better in their first 2 games. The main beneficiary of this altered game plan is RB LeSean McCoy. He rushed for 150 yards last week and has gained 447 yards on the year (5.3 ypc). San Francisco sits 31st in run defense (146.8 ypg) so expect to see a lot of McCoy in this one. QB Tyrod Taylor has already had 3 games with 124 yards or fewer passing yards. While it’s great the running game is clicking, he must find ways to get his receivers more involved in the action. While the 49ers rank 10th in pass defense, they have surrendered 10 TD passes. WR Robert Woods and TE Charles Clay lead the team with 20 and 19 receptions respectively but neither has caught a TD pass in 2015.
Public Money Consensus
This weekends matchup between Buffalo and San Francisco see’s the betting public about even on the point spread, this could be due to the fact that the QB for the 49ers is unclear. The total bettors are also split on the total line.
