Buffalo Bills 2020 Schedule: Week-by-week predictions – part two

Week 13 – at San Francisco 49ers

The stretch run for the Bills is particularly challenging, and it all starts with a Monday Night Football tilt with the defending NFC Champions. Another run-first offence on the Bills schedule for 2020, the Niners’ backfield of Raheem Mostert, Tevin Coleman and Matt Breida decimated defences last season.

Breida has since moved on, and the Niners seem to be pivoting to a more balanced offence, given their signing of wider receiver Travis Benjamin and selection of Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings in the draft. Still, they were reluctant to let quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo sling it in 2019, and with Marquise Goodwin and Emmanuel Sanders departing, the receiving corps is very young.

The defence should be able to pick up some of the slack, as the eighth-ranked unit in all of football is returning almost everybody. But can the offence run up the same numbers as last season with the retirement of 13-year veteran tackle Joe Staley even with the trade for Trent Williams?

The Niners will be good, possibly even great. However, with the Monday night lights shining down, the Bills pull the upset in the Bay Area.

Prediction: 23-17 Bills