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With his team struggling for consistency, Kyle Shanahan warned his players about distractions while Deebo Samuel had no comment about his low numbers for 2024. With a San Francisco Week 13 game scheduled against the Buffalo Bills, it’s a tale of two different seasons. Ahead of the 49ers-Bills game, we’ll be making our 49ers Week 13 predictions.
Standing a 5-6 in an up-and-down season, the 49ers could certainly use a win over Buffalo. The Bills have cruised to a 9-2 mark, riding the wave of a six-game winning streak.
Injuries have been the biggest problem for the 49ers, including the quarterback position. They desperately need Purdy back to have a shot at the Bills. He is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury. Purdy’s presence would make a big difference on the predictions for this game.
49ers RB Christian McCaffrey will score 2 touchdowns
The 49ers will find a way to unleash their former beast. It has been a mostly lost season for McCaffrey as he missed the first eight games. Since returning, McCaffrey had totaled 39, 79, and 31 yards rushing. He receiving totals haven’t been much better at 68, 27, and 37. Also, he has yet to find the end zone.
It is one of the worst three-game stretches of his career. So it has to turn around soon unless McCaffrey’s days of NFL stardom have passed him by.
Perhaps a big dose of snow would help McCaffrey sled his way to a big game. The National Weather Service said it could happen.
“Multiple feet of snow will be possible through the weekend in the most persistent lake snows,” the NWS office in Buffalo said. “Snowfall rates will average 1 to 2 inches an hour, but higher rates will be possible.”
Bills quarterback Josh Allen said he’s hoping McCaffrey won’t get that chance, according to democratandchronicle.com. Allen said he hopes the weather is good but can deal with whatever.
“That would be ideal, yeah,” Allen said. “If there's anybody that's done it enough, it's me. I feel like I'm very comfortable with whatever weather elements are thrown our way. And that's just kind of the nature of the beast of playing here in Buffalo, you have to deal with elements like this.”
Sean McDermott said Purdy is the key
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said the presence or absence of Purdy can impact the ground game and McCaffrey.
“There’s some moving targets with who we’re expecting to play,” McDermott said. “We have to prepare for them to be as healthy as they’ve ever been, really, just because we don’t know. So that’s really how we’re approaching it.”
As for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, he said his team knows what it needs to do.
“We know what we’ve got ahead of us. We know exactly what that playoff situation is,” Shanahan said. “But really all that matters is this week. When you do need to go on a run and put together a lot of wins to even think of that, then you better make sure you’re only thinking of one thing and that’s Buffalo.”
George Kittle will burn the Bills for a 20-plus-yard TD
The 49ers have struggled, but the ever-optimistic Kittle said he believes better times are coming, according to 49erswebzone.com.
“My optimism is not broken by any means,” Kittle said. “We still have a lot of very talented players. We will get some guys back. And I still have full trust in the coaching staff to put our guys in position to make plays, and I got no worry about that. But definitely an uphill grind, and gonna see what we're made of, which I'm looking forward to.”
Kittle has been good of late, totaling 92, 128, 57, and 82 yards over his past four games. For the season he has 642 yards receiving with eight touchdowns. He has scored a touchdown in seven of the nine games he has played.
49eres linebacker Fred Warner will pick off Josh Allen
The 49ers need a big play — or two, or three — to have a shot at beating the Bills. Look for Warner to give them a chance by grabbing a deflected pass from Allen and returning it for 10-plus yards.
Allen said he’s aware of how good Warner and the 49ers’ defense can be, according to buffalobills.com.
“Fred Warner is maybe the best linebacker in football,” Allen said. “He flies around. I think their d-line, with (Nick) Bosa and Floyd, obviously, Floyd was here last year, two guys that can absolutely go and get after the quarterback. I think their DBs play very well within their system. And they're getting healthier. A really, really good defense that they fly around, they force a lot of turnovers, so, we got to be on our A-game.”
Warner had 10 interceptions in seven-year NFL career. He also has two pick-sixes. The standout veteran has earned first-team All-Pro honors three times, including each of the last two seasons. In 2023, he finished sixth in the AP defensive player of the year voting. Shanahan said Warner is the real deal, according to nbcsportsbayarea.com.
“I still think Fred is the man,” Shanahan said. “(He) is playing at a high level. I know he had more missed tackles than he’s had, I think he had, I want to say four, which is too much for anyone, way too much for him. So, obviously he can do better in that way. But Fred is still playing like one of the best linebackers in the league. I know he's got a real high standard, so when he has something like that, it's going to stick out. But Fred's still playing like one of the best players in this league.”
