NFL : Bills clinch, 49ers CMC injured

League compiles weekly pile of stats and facts to know

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, may be done for the year. … and so may his team.

McCaffrey slid down on a run without contact and was ruled out of the 49ers' 35-10 loss on Sunday night to the Buffalo Bills. Coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters the injury could potentially end the player’s season,

Shanahan said that McCaffrey's injury was to the PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) in his knee.

McCaffrey, playing in his fourth game of the season after missing the first eight with Achilles and calf injuries, took a pitch right and after a step or two slid to the ground. He popped up and jogged to the sideline, briefly visiting the medical tent before moving on to the locker room.

In a season during which San Francisco has been besieged by injuries, McCaffrey's was the biggest and first to plague the 49ers. His new issue creates a massive cause for concern.

McCaffrey missed training camp and the preseason as a precaution for what was initially described as a calf issue. But McCaffrey's injury lingered and he was placed on injured reserve after Week 1.

McCaffrey did not look like his normal self in his return from IR, averaging just 49.7 rushing yards per game in his first three contests.

After his 5-yard loss on his final attempt Sunday night, he had seven carries for 53 yards with a 19-yard gain providing a flash of the CMC of old.

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In case we forget to mention it otherwise, the Bills also clinched the AFC East championship.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s memorable week began with singer and actress Hailey Steinfeld accepting his proposal for marriage and ended with the Buffalo Bills quarterback celebrating his three-TD outing in an AFC East-clinching 35-10 win over San Francisco by making snow angels alongside coach Sean McDermott on Sunday night.

“He’s the one that got me to do it,” Allen said of interrupting McDermott’s television interview to lay backwards into a snow pile. “I’m not the biggest snow angel fan, because you get cold down there, my toes are freezing right now ... but it was fun.”

As for Steinfeld saying “Yes,” during his bye week proposal, Allen said: “Felt good. Felt free.”

He could just as well have been referring to his performance by braving bone-chilling temperatures and a persistent snowfall in becoming the NFL’s first quarterback and seventh player in the Super Bowl era to score a touchdown passing, rushing and receiving. Sandwiched between his 7-yard touchdown pass to Mack Hollins and an 8-yard scoring run, Allen scored a receiving touchdown on a pass he threw in his latest do-everything performance.

With Amari Cooper corralling a short pass with a one-handed catch, the receiver was in the midst of being wrapped up by two Niners defenders when he pitched the ball back to Allen. The QB sprinted to the left corner of the end zone and dived past for the pylon for the score.

“It’s got to be up there. I wish he got credited for something there, an assist or a passing touchdown,” Allen said of Cooper. “I just kind of chased the ball to be there and we made eye contact. ... It was dope.”

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Direct from the NFL’s stats geeks in New York, here are more stats and facts from Sunday’s morning and afternoon game than you will remember the day after reading them.

• Here’s is the obligatory nod to parity: With two games remaining in Week 13, 12 games were decided by seven-or-fewer points – tied for the most in a single week in NFL history. Three teams – Indianapolis, Minnesota and Tampa Bay – recorded a game-winning score in the final minute of the fourth quarter or in overtime.
  
  There have been 106 games decided by seven-or-fewer points and 92 games decided by six-or-fewer points this season, both the most such games through Week 13 in NFL history.
  
  There have been 113 games decided by eight-or-fewer points this season, the second-most such games through Week 13 in NFL history, trailing only 2022 (114 games).
  
  The Kansas City Chiefs defeated Las Vegas, 19-17, on Black Friday to improve to 11-1 and clinch a postseason berth for the 10th consecutive season.
  
  The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated Cincinnati, 44-38, to improve to 9-3 and record their 21st consecutive season without a losing record, tied with the 1965-85 Dallas Cowboys (21 consecutive seasons) for the most consecutive seasons without a losing record in NFL history.
  
  The Philadelphia Eagles defeated Baltimore, 24-19, to improve to 10-2, their eighth-consecutive win as running back Saquon Barkley had 117 scrimmage yards (107 rushing, 10 receiving) and a rushing touchdown in the win.
  
  Barkley has 1,766 scrimmage yards this season and became the second player in NFL history with at least 1,700 scrimmage yards in his first 12 games with a team, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (1,775 scrimmage yards with the Los Angeles Rams).
  
  Barkley has 1,499 rushing yards in 12 games this season. Only five players had more rushing yards in their first 12 games of a season in NFL history: Pro Football Hall of Famers Jim Brown (1,527 rushing yards in 1958 and 1,677 in 1963), Terrell Davis (1,566 in 1998), Walter Payton (1,642 in 1977) and O.J. Simpson (1,584 in 1973 and 1,575 in 1975) as well as Chris Johnson (1,509 in 2009).

• Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 25 of 30 attempts (83.3 percent) for 206 yards and three touchdowns and added 34 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown while linebacker Bobby Wagner had five tackles in the Commanders’ 42-19 win over Tennessee.
  
  Daniels is the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to record three games with a completion percentage of 80-or-higher, minimum 15 attempts in each game.
  
  Daniels is the third rookie quarterback in NFL history with multiple touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in consecutive games, joining Charlie Conerly (twice in 1948) and Kent Nix (1967).
  
  Wagner has 104 tackles this season and became the second player since 2000 with at least 100 tackles in 13 consecutive seasons, joining London Fletcher (14 consecutive seasons from 2000-13).

• Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert completed 16 of 23 pass attempts (69.6 percent) for 147 yards in the team’s 17-13 win at Atlanta in Week 13.
  
  Herbert became the third player in NFL history without an interception in 10 consecutive games (minimum 15 pass attempts in each game) within a single season, joining Tom Brady (11 consecutive games in 2010) and Derek Carr (10 in 2018).
  
  Herbert has 2,551 passing yards and one interception this season and joined Aaron Rodgers (2018) as the only players in NFL history with at least 2,500 passing yards and one-or-fewer interceptions in his first 12 games of a season.
  
  Herbert has 19,774 career passing yards and surpassed Jameis Winston (19,737 passing yards) for the second-most passing yards by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning (20,618 passing yards) has more.

• Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow passed for 309 yards and three touchdowns, while wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase had six receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown in Week 13.
  
  Burrow has 3,337 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes this season and became the fourth quarterback in NFL history with at least 3,000 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes in three of his first five career seasons, joining Josh Allen (2020-22 with Buffalo), Patrick Mahomes (2018, 2020-21 with Kansas City) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (1984-86 with Miami).
  
  Burrow has 22 career games with at least three touchdown passes and surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner (21 games) for the third-most games with at least three touchdown passes by a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (33 games) and Patrick Mahomes (28) have more.
  
  Burrow is the fourth player ever with 15 games with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his first five seasons, joining Patrick Mahomes (19 games) and Pro Football Hall of Famers Dan Marino (19) and Kurt Warner (17).
  
  Chase has 42 career touchdown receptions, tied with Rob Gronkowski (42 touchdown receptions) for the fourth-most touchdown receptions by a player in his first four seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers Randy Moss (53 touchdown receptions), Jerry Rice (49) and Bob Hayes (45) have more.

• Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson had seven receptions for 99 yards in the Vikings’ 23-22 win over Arizona.
  
  Jefferson has 1,038 receiving yards in 2024 and became the fourth player in NFL history with at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first five career seasons, joining Mike Evans, A.J. Green and Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss.

• Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt recorded two sacks and a forced fumble in the Steelers’ 44-38 win at Cincinnati.
  
  Watt has 106 career sacks and surpassed Jared Allen (105 sacks) for the third-most by a player in his first eight seasons since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers Reggie White (124 sacks) and DeMarcus Ware (111) have more.
  
  Watt has at least one sack in 67 career games and surpassed Aaron Donald (66 games) and Chandler Jones (66) for the fourth-most games with a sack by a player in his first eight seasons since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers DeMarcus Ware (75) and Reggie White (72 games) and as well as Von Miller (71) have more.
  
  Watt has at least two sacks in 24 career games, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor (24 games) and his brother, J.J. Watt (24), for the fifth-most such games by a player in his first eight seasons since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic. Only Pro Football Hall of Famers Reggie White (33 games) and Richard Dent (25) as well as Jared Allen (28) and Simeon Rice (27) have more.

• Seattle defensive end Leonard Williams recorded two sacks and a 92-yard interception-return for a touchdown and blocked an extra point attempt in the Seahawks’ 26-21 win at the New York Jets.
  
  Williams is the first player with multiple sacks, an interception-return touchdown and a blocked kick in the same game since 1982, when the individual sack became an official statistic.

• Additional notes from Week 13:

  • Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 306 yards and one touchdown in the Chiefs’ Week 13 win over Las Vegas on Black Friday.
    
    Mahomes has 100 career victories including the postseason, tied with Tom Brady (100 wins) for the most wins by a starting quarterback in his first eight career seasons, including the postseason in NFL history.

  • Las Vegas rookie tight end Brock Bowers had 10 receptions for 140 yards and one touchdown in Week 13.
    
    Bowers has 84 receptions this season and surpassed Keith Jackson (81 receptions in 1988 with Philadelphia) for the second-most receptions by a rookie tight end in NFL history. Only Sam LaPorta (86 receptions in 2023 with Detroit) has more.
    
    Bowers has three games with at least 10 receptions in 2024 and joined Odell Beckham Jr. (four games in 2014) and Jaylen Waddle (three games in 2021) as the only rookies all-time with 10-or-more receptions in three games.

  • Houston running back Joe Mixon rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown in the Texans’ 23-20 win at Jacksonville.
    
    Mixon is the third player in NFL history with at least 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in six road games within a single season, joining Tiki Barber (six games in 2004 with the New York Giants) and Derrick Henry (six in 2020 with Tennessee).

  • Arizona tight end Trey McBride had 12 receptions for 96 yards in Week 13.
    
    McBride, with 12 receptions in Week 13 and 12 receptions in Week 12, became the first tight end in NFL history with at least 12 receptions in consecutive games.
    
    McBride joined Travis Kelce (10 consecutive road games from 2019-20) as the only tight ends in NFL history with five-or-more receptions in 10 consecutive road games.

  • New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers had eight receptions for 69 yards on Thanksgiving.
    
    Nabers has 75 career receptions and surpassed Odell Beckham Jr. (71 receptions) for the most receptions by a player in his first 10 career games in NFL history.

  • Chicago rookie quarterback Caleb Williams completed 20 of 39 attempts for 256 yards and three touchdowns in Week 13.
    
    Williams has 232 consecutive pass attempts without an interception and surpassed Kyler Murray (211 consecutive attempts in 2019) for the longest streak of pass attempts without an interception by a rookie in NFL history.

  • New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers connected with wide receiver Davante Adams for a touchdown in Week 13, their second touchdown together this season.
    
    Rodgers and Adams have connected for 78 touchdowns in their careers, tied with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown (78 touchdowns) for the fourth-most touchdowns by a quarterback-wide receiver duo, including the postseason, in NFL history.

  • Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, in his 100th career game, had three catches in the team’s 21-14 win at New Orleans and has 625 career receptions, surpassing Keenan Allen (624 receptions) for the most receptions by a player in his first 100 games in NFL history.