The (10-2) entered Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers (5-7) looking to clinch the AFC East for the fifth time with a victory over a 49ers team that has struggled with injuries for much of this season secure in sequence. Although the Bills struggled with the losses of rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid, Buffalo managed to overcome those losses and accomplish what they wanted.
The Bills defeated the 49ers on a snowy, cold night as Buffalo plays in front of a national television audience on “Sunday Night Football.” While San Francisco wasn't used to playing in such cold weather, the Bills have been there and done it. That was evident when star quarterback Josh Allen threw for 148 yards and two touchdowns while also scoring two more touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air.
Given the weather, Buffalo focused on the ground game and that meant relying on running backs James Cook and Ray Davis. Without further ado, here is the Bills' stock report following Sunday's win over the 49ers:
Stock up: QB Josh Allen
As mentioned above, Allen was the star of the game for the Bills and that shouldn't be a surprise at this point in his career. Allen appeared to have injured his left (non-throwing) hand, but he managed to overcome that to give Buffalo an all-around offense, catching a touchdown pass among other things to put an exclamation mark on a year set that could become an MVP for him.
Stock Down: WR Amari Cooper
Although Cooper had a solid performance in Buffalo's last game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had no such performance on Sunday against the 49ers. Although Cooper received seven targets, it was only three catches for 12 yards as the weather dampened the Bills' passing attack, which Cooper suffered due to production issues.
Add: CB Rasul Douglas
Because Douglas was there all season, he was essentially a lockdown corner on the perimeter and that lasted until Sunday. While Douglas got some help from the weather, he did a good job of disrupting Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings to the point that neither receiver had a great day for a San Francisco team that needed a win for a playoff spot to stay alive.
Stock Down: DE AJ Epenesa
Epenesa has had good games for the Bills throughout this season, but Sunday wasn't one of them as he didn't have much of an impact on the game. Epenesa can usually put a lot of pressure on the opposing team's quarterback, but he was unable to repeat that performance, due in part to the inclement weather.
Stock up: RB James Cook
After a tumultuous game against the Chiefs nearly two weeks ago, Cook made a big play crossing the 49ers in the snow. Cook posted his second 100-yard game of the season and has a chance to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark this season, but if he wants to do that, he'll have to keep up those performances.
Stock up: RB Ray Davis
It was a big day for Buffalo's running backs and Ray Davis was no exception as he had his second most productive game of the season. Although James Cook was involved in the offense, Davis was heavily involved due to the nature of the weather and Buffalo opted for the run given the success of the ground game.