Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills can clinch their fifth straight AFC East title with a win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night at Highmark Stadium.
To do it, here are my three keys to the game, plus notes and stats:
1.) Make them want to get out of town
The 49ers come to Buffalo banged up.
Defensive end Nick Bosa and left tackle Trent Williams are just two of the several notable names who won't play. Quarterback Brock Purdy is ailing, but is expected to start.
San Francisco is 5-6, and have lost two games in-a-row. They know it's going to be cold, and could be snowy.
If the Bills can jump on them early, 49ers players may mentally check out and just want to get back to sunny California to lick their wounds.
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2.) Don't let McCaffrey get going
49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has come back from injury and played the last three games. In those three contests, he's averaging over 93 yards from scrimmage per-contest. He's a weapon on the ground and out of the backfield.
The Bills rank just 28th in the NFL, averaging 4.85 yards allowed on the ground per-play, and have struggled, at times, to contain backs out of the backfield in the receiving game.
Buffalo has to make sure McCaffrey doesn't control the game in either capacity.
3.) Stay within yourself
The Bills can clinch their fifth-straight division title with a win on Sunday. They are playing in a prime-time game in front of a national television audience.
While they'll, of course, want to play with intensity, they also have to make sure they don't get so hyped up that they aren't playing out of control, causing mental and physical mistakes.
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