What We Learned from Sunday’s games

FULL BOX SCORE

Grant Gordon’s takeaways:

1. Allen does it all in MVP-statement showing. Not long after the Saquon Barkley-led Philadelphia Eagles bested the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens in a matchup brimming with MVP talk, Josh Allen said hold my very, very cold beverage. Despite a steady and thick snowfall, Allen was his productive — and acrobatic — self as he keyed a Buffalo win that clinched an AFC East title and provided a play-of-the-year candidate. Allen became the first NFL quarterback in history to record passing, rushing and receiving touchdowns in the same game, keyed by what will go down in the scorebook as him passing a touchdown to himself. Already leading 21-7 in the third quarter, Allen threw a dart to Amari Cooper, who was stood up and flipped it back to Allen. The QB sprinted toward the pylon, reaching for a score. It was a never-before-seen play in an Allen-driven blowout. He was credited with two TDs on the play — one passing and one receiving as he became just the fourth player in NFL history to do so. He had a TD toss prior and completed the historic trifecta with an 8-yard run. Unlike Barkley or Jackson, he’s also clinched a postseason bid in just 13 weeks. Allen made his latest statement for MVP candidacy and more importantly led his Bills on a giant step forward to reaching their biggest goals of Super Bowl success. 
2. San Francisco — and likely its season — lost in the snow. Against the backdrop of a snowy night, the white-jerseyed 49ers seemed to disappear at times. Perhaps it was a fitting portrait of their season, as the longstanding NFC juggernauts have been besieged with injuries that have been made all the worse by underperforming stars and kicking woes. In a microcosm played out in a snow globe, that was San Francisco’s story. Christian McCaffrey, whose calf/Achilles injuries began the team’s health woes at the start of the season, left with a knee injury that could end his season. Jake Moody missed two field goals in the frigid conditions.Deebo Samuel had just 20 receiving yards on five catches. S.F. had three turnovers. And the 49ers, playing without Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa, Trent Williams and plenty of others, fell to 5-7 with their third straight loss. Cold and wounded, the 49ers are in last place in their division and will leave Western New York with what looks like a snowball’s chance in the NFC West of making the playoffs. 
3. Don’t forget about the D. Offensive highlights will always overshadow defensive play, but Buffalo’s performance on both sides of the ball was stellar. The Bills overwhelmed the 49ers, with Gregory Rousseau continuing his sensational campaign, Matt Milano back, healthy and contributing, Terrel Bernard gobbling up tackles and plenty others contributing to an all-around suffocating showing. Buffalo was boom-or-bust on offense, scoring touchdowns or going three-and-out on its first eight drives. But after the Bills overcame an early 3-0 deficit, this game became a runaway and the defense played a massive role as the Niners struggled to just three third-down conversions and 239 yards. Regardless of whether this was a fair fight when taking into consideration injuries and weather makes no matter. Not to mention, after holding both Super Bowl LVIII participants to a combined 31 points in their past two games, the Bills have clinched at least one playoff home game. Opponents need to get used to playing big, bad Buffalo in the elements. 

Next Gen Stats Insight for 49ers-Bills (via NFL Pro): Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who became the fourth player in NFL history to record a receiving touchdown on a pass he threw, scored when he threw a pass to Amari Cooper that was lateraled back to Allen. Allen accelerated from 9.70 mph to 16.61 mph in 1.8 seconds to beat linebacker Dee Winters to the pylon for the touchdown.

NFL Research: Bills QB Josh Allen passed Hall of Famer Jim Kelly (244) for the most total touchdowns in franchise history. Credited with four TDs (two passing, one receiving, one rushing) on Sunday, Allen now has 248 in his career. That includes two receiving TDs.