Here's a quarter by quarter look at the Buffalo Bills' 34-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday night.
First quarter
Theme: Gift-wrapped TD.
First fumble: Zack Moss won’t forget his first NFL fumble. It came on his own 1-yard line. The handoff attempt from Josh Allen bounced off Moss’ arms and the Niners recovered at the Buffalo 3. Three plays later, Brandon Aiyuk caught a 1-yard TD pass.
Good timing: The Bills could not have asked for better timing. The 49ers were without three of their four best players in tight end George Kittle, defensive end Nick Bosa and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
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Neutral site: It was just the sixth instance of a team hosting a game at another team’s stadium in the NFL since 1970.
Zebra report: The Bills almost had a third-down stop deep in Niners territory, but Levi Wallace was flagged for pass interference on a deep fade pass for Deebo Samuel. It was close, but it looked like the right call. Wallace had a steady grab on Samuel’s left arm.
No second guess: Both head coaches opted to go for it on fourth-and-goal situations from the one. Both failed. Good decisions. It’s good to be aggressive.
Slow start: The Bills are the No. 2 scoring team in the NFL (with an 80-42 edge), but were scoreless Monday.
Second quarter
Theme: Josh Allen wheels and deals.
Pretty offense: The Bills went 77 yards in five plays for a touchdown, 69 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown and 71 yards in seven plays for a field goal.
Matchup watch: Allen passed for 236 yards in the first half, while the Niners’ Nick Mullens managed 57 passing yards.
Cole Beasley was free money Monday night, writes Jay Skurski.
Mismatch watch: The Niners had huge trouble with Cole Beasley. Niners slot corner Emmanuel Moseley, their No. 3 option at the spot, sat out with a sore groin. That pressed seventh-year journeyman Dontae Johnson into service for his first start of the season. Johnson had played only 18% of the snaps this year. Johnson wasn’t over the slot a lot, as the Niners stuck to a lot of zone coverage. But Beasley found holes all over the zones. He had seven catches for 113 yards in the first half.
Run early: The Niners entered the game averaging 72 rushing yards a game in the first half, which was almost two-thirds of their rushing total. San Francisco got 65 yards in the half on 16 carries, a 4.0-yard average.
Good scoring: the Bills are averaging 15.25 points in the first half, seventh best in the NFL. Last year, they averaged 19.6 points a game.
Third quarter
Theme: Bills stay in control.
Five straight: The Bills went 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown and got a field goal after a turnover for scores in five straight possessions in the game.
Big drop: Niners rookie receiver Aiyuk bobbled a pass over the middle that caromed off the arm of linebacker A.J. Klein and into the arms of safety Micah Hyde. He returned it 33 yards to the Niners’ 5. It led to a field goal.
Matchup watch: Tackles Dion Dawkins and Daryl Williams neutralized Kerry Hyder, who entered the game with 7.5 sacks. This has been the second good year in Hyder’s seven-year, injury-hindered career. Hyder had eight sacks for Detroit in 2016, but has revived this year under the wide-9 scheme of Niners D-line coach Kris Kocurek, who coached him in Detroit. But Hyder was invisible vs. the Bills.
Consistent: Stefon Diggs has six-plus catches in nine straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL.
Third totals: Each team scored 10 points. The Bills now have been outscored 94-47 in the third quarter. The Bills are 1-10-1 outscoring foes in the third quarter.
Twenty: The Bills extended their team record by hitting 20 first downs for a 12th straight game. They hit 20 in the first half.
Fourth quarter
Theme: Bills offense puts on a show.
Big bust: The Niners left Gabriel Davis wide open for a 28-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline. It gave the Bills a 34-17 lead. At that point, the Bills had outgained the Niners 431-245.
Best tackle: Micah Hyde stopped Kendrick Bourne after a catch at the 1-inch line on a third-down play.
Best chase: On the next play, Tre’Davious White chased Jeff Wilson across the field and intercepted a pass at the goal line.
MNF winners: The Bills ended their Monday Night Football jinx, snapping a streak of eight straight losses. The last previous Bills MNF win was at Miami in 1999. The Niners are 49-29 on Monday Night Football. The 49 wins are tied with Pittsburgh for most by any team. Dallas is third at 47. The Bills are 18-27 on MNF.
Series: The Bills lead the series, 7-6.
Through 12: The Bills are 9-3 in back-to-back seasons for the first time 28 years. They were 9-3 three years in a row, from 1990-92. This is the latest the Bills have held sole position of first place in the AFC East since 1996.
