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The 5-6 San Francisco 49ers will host the 8-3 Buffalo Bills at State Farm Stadium in Week 13 of the NFL season. The game will be aired on Monday Night Football on ESPN. The 49ers are playing their next two home games at the Arizona Cardinals' stadium after Santa Clara County enacted restrictions on contact sports and visitors to the county for the next three weeks.
The Niners are coming off a terrific Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Rams to snap a three-game losing streak. San Francisco won by a final score of 23-20 on a Robbie Gould game-winning field goal. The 49ers are in 10th place in the NFC standings and sort of alive for that last Wild Card spot in the conference.
The Bills, meanwhile, defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12 at home, 27-17. Buffalo is in first place in the AFC East division and fourth place in the AFC overall. They are well on their way to making the playoffs again.
With the 49ers and Bills set to kick off soon, let's take a look at four bold predictions for the contest from a San Francisco point of view.
1. Nick Mullens throws one touchdown, two interceptions
In seven games this season, 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens has thrown six touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 67.5 percent of his passes. He has racked up 1,642 passing yards and is 2-3 as a starter.
The Bills are giving up 25.6 points per game on the season, which is 18th in the NFL. Their defense has forced a turnover in every game this season except for two. The Bills have recorded eight interceptions on the season overall.
We have Mullens throwing one touchdown and two interceptions against the Bills in Week 13. He's a below-average quarterback in the NFL and has thrown an interception in every game this season except for two.
While the 49ers' mood is high right now after defeating the Rams on the road last week, we expect the Bills' defense to humble Mullens and Co. in Week 13 and gave them trouble from start to finish.
2. Deebo Samuel records second straight 100-yard game
49ers star wideout Deebo Samuel made his grand return to the lineup in Week 12 against the Rams and made his presence felt in a big way. The elusive playmaker caught 11 balls on 13 targets for 133 yards.
The Rams' defense, one of the best in the NFL, simply had no answers for Samuel.
Against the Bills, we have Samuel recording his second straight 100-yard game. George Kittle, Travis Benjamin, Chris Thompson and Jalen Hurd are still out for the 49ers, so Mullens is going to have to rely on Samuel a lot in this contest.
One of the fastest players in the NFL, Samuel should be targeted by Mullens double-digit times again. He has 27 receptions on the season for 318 yards and one touchdown. Samuel has been targeted 35 times this season in the five games he's appeared in.
3. 49ers give up more than 25 points to Bills
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The Bills' offense, led by quarterback Josh Allen and wideout Stefon Diggs, is averaging 27.2 points per game on the season, which is good for 10th in the NFL. Allen, who has one of the biggest arms in the league, has thrown for 3,028 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season, while Diggs has recorded 80 receptions for 945 yards and four scores.
In Week 13, we have the 49ers' defense giving up more than 25 points to the Bills. San Francisco is allowing 23.1 points a contest, 11th in the league. However, they have struggled against some of the elite offenses in the NFL. They gave up 37 points to the Seattle Seahawks, 34 to the Green Bay Packers and 27 to the New Orleans Saints.
The 49ers also allowed the Miami Dolphins to score 43 on them earlier in the season.
The Bills have scored at least 25 points or more seven times this season. Even though Richard Sherman is back for the 49ers, odds are Buffalo is going to score well on Sunday.
4. 49ers lose to Bills, drop to 5-7
We have the 49ers losing to the Bills in Week 13 and dropping to 5-7 on the season. The win over the Rams was huge and a great sign that players on the team love playing for head coach Kyle Shanahan.
However, we just can't see the 49ers having similar success against the Bills, who have weapons all over the field on offense and a very opportunistic defense playing against a quarterback in Mullens who doesn't scare anyone with his arm or legs.
Unfortunately, it appears the 49ers are going to miss the playoffs this season after getting all the way to the Super Bowl last season. For whatever reason, the losing team in the Super Bowl always struggles the next season and that trend looks to have continued this campaign.
Injuries have haunted San Francisco all season long and it's been hard for the team to rebound from them.
However, anything can happen in the game of football. 49ers fans are counting on it.
