November 30, 2008
49ers remain stiff on defense in cold Buffalo
The 49ers defense remained strong towards the end of the game on defense, not allowing a touchdown throughout the game. But if you saw the game, the whole momentum was on the foot of Bills K Rian Lindell. After missing a simple 20-yard kick early in the game, he also missed a 40-yard field goal later in the game. All the momentum for the Bills disappeared and went to the Niners.
But this game was all on the Niners defense. Towards the end of the game, the Niners stopped the Bills on 4th and 2 and on the Bills' last drive, forced the Bills to go backwards. It was a great day defensively for the Niners. The bend don't break defense gave up a lot of yards (361 yards) but the way they were able to add pressure ot the quarterback and stuff the run towards the red zone was just impressive.
I will give a lot of praise to the pressure up front. The Niners collected three sacks during the game and forced two fumbles during the game. Bills RB Marshawn Lynch did unleash "Beast Mode" for 134 yards. But the Niners' first half defefnse and Bills QB Trent Edwards' bad play was enough for the 49ers to grab that 10-0 lead at the half.
Because of Edwards' bad play, QB J.P. Losman had to come in and save the day. The Bills ran the ball more in the second half and the passing was better. But the 49ers were really great on offense for the first drive.
They started with five straight running plays. They completed four 3rd down conversions and WR Isaac Bruce scored on a 12-yard pass play. But throughout the rest of the game, the Niners offense was just OK. They added a field goal towards the end of the first half from a Marshawn Lynch fumble. But that was all the scoring they did in the game. However, QB Shaun Hill was great on offense with a 96.5 passer rating.
But I still want to give great praise for the 49ers defense. They executed when they needed to and when they were pushed to the edge, they never fell off. I was just really impressed at the team's ability to fight against the weather at such early time in the day.
The defense had given up and average of 28 points a game and giving up only a field goal really shows that the defense has stepped up to the challenge. If Lindell had made those two misses, I am pretty happy with what the defense did today.
I wish the offense had put together more points. But the running game wasn't as strong as it could have been, forcing the Niners to pass on many downs towards the beginning of the second half. WR Isaac Bruce and Jason Hill both had five catches each, but other than those two, the Niners pass attack wasn't that great. But a win is a win. This actually is the most impressive win for the 49ers this year. The win came against a team that was fighting for a playoff spot and it showed exactly what Mike Nolan had started when he came here: a defensive-oriented team.
The defense was the name of the game today and the 49ers stuffed the Bills.
But this game was all on the Niners defense. Towards the end of the game, the Niners stopped the Bills on 4th and 2 and on the Bills' last drive, forced the Bills to go backwards. It was a great day defensively for the Niners. The bend don't break defense gave up a lot of yards (361 yards) but the way they were able to add pressure ot the quarterback and stuff the run towards the red zone was just impressive.
I will give a lot of praise to the pressure up front. The Niners collected three sacks during the game and forced two fumbles during the game. Bills RB Marshawn Lynch did unleash "Beast Mode" for 134 yards. But the Niners' first half defefnse and Bills QB Trent Edwards' bad play was enough for the 49ers to grab that 10-0 lead at the half.
Because of Edwards' bad play, QB J.P. Losman had to come in and save the day. The Bills ran the ball more in the second half and the passing was better. But the 49ers were really great on offense for the first drive.
They started with five straight running plays. They completed four 3rd down conversions and WR Isaac Bruce scored on a 12-yard pass play. But throughout the rest of the game, the Niners offense was just OK. They added a field goal towards the end of the first half from a Marshawn Lynch fumble. But that was all the scoring they did in the game. However, QB Shaun Hill was great on offense with a 96.5 passer rating.
But I still want to give great praise for the 49ers defense. They executed when they needed to and when they were pushed to the edge, they never fell off. I was just really impressed at the team's ability to fight against the weather at such early time in the day.
The defense had given up and average of 28 points a game and giving up only a field goal really shows that the defense has stepped up to the challenge. If Lindell had made those two misses, I am pretty happy with what the defense did today.
I wish the offense had put together more points. But the running game wasn't as strong as it could have been, forcing the Niners to pass on many downs towards the beginning of the second half. WR Isaac Bruce and Jason Hill both had five catches each, but other than those two, the Niners pass attack wasn't that great. But a win is a win. This actually is the most impressive win for the 49ers this year. The win came against a team that was fighting for a playoff spot and it showed exactly what Mike Nolan had started when he came here: a defensive-oriented team.
The defense was the name of the game today and the 49ers stuffed the Bills.
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