The weather outside was frightful at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York on Sunday night, but the way the San Francisco 49ers played against the Buffalo Bills inside the stadium was even worse.
The 49ers gave up 220 yards on the ground, turned the ball over three times, and were dominated for four quarters in a 35-10 loss to the Bills in front of a national audience. Snow was falling throughout the game, which may go down as the worst moment of the season for the 49ers when it's all said and done.
After the game, the 49ers talked about the weather on Sunday and how much of a factor it played in their performance. We have those comments in this version of 49ers Notebook, along with some quotes addressing a key fumble in the game from fullback Kyle Juszczyk and why quarterback Brock Purdy didn't look for tight end George Kittle more in the passing game. Let's get into it...
Not blaming the weather
The 49ers aren't as used to snowstorms as their opponents on Sunday night, but they weren't in a mood to blame that situation for what happened.
Highmark Stadium was one of a number of locations across Western New York, Northwest Pennsylvania, and Northeast Ohio that was pummeled by snowfall between Thanksgiving and Sunday. Orchard Park saw around two feet of snow during that time, while the storm dumped almost four feet of snow in areas south of Orchard Park and nearly five feet of snow in parts of Ohio. The snow persisted throughout the entirety of Sunday night's game, and it caused players on both teams to lose their footing at times. But the 49ers downplayed those conditions a bit when discussing them after the game.
"It was just snow and cold," linebacker Fred Warner said. "Snow on the ground. Had to make sure your footing was right. That was it."
The weather also likely played a role in one of the 49ers' turnovers -- a fumble that was recovered by the Bills after a pass slipped out of Purdy's hand.
"The tracking is what I think got a lot of guys for both sides," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "You know, as far as the turnovers, I think it got Brock on that one pass -- obviously that third down (pass) that slipped out of his hands. It makes it tough, but tough for both teams."
Purdy gave his own account of the game conditions when speaking with reporters after the loss, pointing out that the snow may have actually helped jumpstart the 49ers' rushing attack.
"Just footing, guys being a little bit slower and then the pass rush, dealing with that while trying to go through reads and stuff was difficult," Purdy said. "But, you know, I think it sort of helped out the run game and we were able to get some real good runs in. But just footing in general, and then late in the game it felt like the snow started to melt a little bit, so the ball just became a little bit more slick."
49ers kicker Jake Moody may have also been affected by the weather as he missed a field goal from 45 yards and had a 55-yard attempt fall short of the uprights.
"I'm not thinking about that right now," Shanahan said. "I know he missed two in that game. Conditions weren't good, but especially the 55-yard one in those conditions I think would have at the end of that half would have been an amazing kick. But I thought the one before that (from 45 yards) was one he should have made."
Shanahan told reporters the 49ers weren't surprised by anything that took place weather-wise on Sunday night and were ready for what they encountered.
"It feels like what we expected," Shanahan said. "We were prepared for it. We had an idea it was going to be like that, and so we dressed warm. And you go out there and you play the game."
And one 49ers player even enjoyed playing in the snow, along with everything else that came with it.
"Snowstorms are fun," Kittle said. "It's a very sticky type of snow. I think you guys saw everyone clicking their heels like Dorothy out there the entire game. It's one of the weirder environments I've played in... had a great time, fantastic fan base.
"I think I had 23 snowballs fly past my head. No one hit, though, so I was pretty excited. I saw multiple people get smoked in the face. That was pretty funny. Besides that, they played on the same surface as we did, so they just took advantage of it and we didn't."
One he wishes he had back
While Purdy's fumble may have been due to the elements, a key fumble by fullback Kyle Juszczyk was not. With the 49ers down 21-3 early in the third quarter, they were on the brink of scoring a touchdown that would have gotten them back in the game. Juszczyk was given the call on a 1st-and-Goal at the 4-yard line, which is an opportunity he doesn't usually get. But he had the ball punched out of his hand by safety Taylor Rapp, after which Bills cornerback Christian Benford picked up the ball and ran back to midfield.
Bills force the fumble and recover the ball!! Chaos in Buffalo 😳
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— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2024
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Juszczyk, who has just six rushing touchdowns in 12 NFL seasons, was understandably disappointed at missing his chance to get another.
"Extremely (disappointing)," Juszczyk told reporters after the game. "It sucks. I don't get a ton of opportunities so every one of them means so much to me. So when something like that happens, I take it personally. It's just something I never want to happen and something I'll do everything to try and fix."
Shanahan was asked why he went with Juszczyk in that situation and said the play that was called was a good response to the looks the Bills typically give near the goal line.
"That was a good scheme run for the fronts that they always play down there," Shanahan said. "It's tough to run it versus their zero looks and that was a good schemed up play to run an inverse at and felt really good about it. I don't think Kyle's fumbled the ball in a long time. I can't remember the last time he did it.
"First and goal at the four and I don't know if he was going to score. We were going to be at the one so we definitely liked the play. They stripped him and they made a good play."
Where was George?
Sunday's weather conditions seemed tailor-made for Kittle to see a heavy workload, but he was only targeted twice throughout the game.
Kittle's lone catch came on the first play of the game, then after that, he wasn't a factor as a receiver. When asked why after the game, Kittle didn't have an answer.
"I do not have an explanation," Kittle said. "I think I ran like six more routes the rest of the day."
Kittle said how the Bills were covering him wasn't an issue.
"I felt pretty open multiple times," Kittle said. "It is what it is."
Part of the reason may have been the 49ers were having success running the ball, but Purdy also said the reads he made didn't end with him getting the ball to Kittle.
"I thought we had some good plays drawn up. It's just tough with the conditions," Purdy said. "We're running the ball so well, and then when we did have the opportunities to throw balls, the reads just didn't get me to George within the play. So it's just sort of how it went. But obviously, we'd love to get George the ball as many times as we can, and it sucks that we didn't."
