49ers edge Buffalo; Edwards hurt

Football Betting Lines

11/30/2008 - Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shaun Hill threw the only touchdown of the game in the first quarter and the San Francisco 49ers left Buffalo with a 10-3 victory.

Isaac Bruce had five catches for 67 yards and the score while Hill went 14- for-23 with 161 yards for the 49ers (4-8), who won for the second time in the past three games. Frank Gore had 66 yards on 24 carries and added three catches for 23 yards in the win.

"It's great to beat a good team," Hill said. "Buffalo is a good team. We've been in ball games with good teams this year, but for whatever reason jut weren't able to come away with wins. Obviously this one was big for us to be able to come out of here with a victory. We were really hungry for this win."

The victory means that Arizona will have to wait at least another week before clinching the NFC West as the Cardinals lost to Philadelphia on Thanksgiving to drop to 7-5 on the season. If Arizona wins any of its final four games, it clinches the division.

Trent Edwards went 10-for-21 with 112 yards, but was on the sidelines for the entire second half with a groin strain. J.P. Losman took over under center in the second half and went 11-for-17 with 93 yards while Marshawn Lynch had 16 carries for 134 yards for the Bills (6-6), who have gone 2-6 after opening the season with four straight wins.

"I think it's pretty clear that the story of this game is the red zone," Bills head coach Dick Jauron said. "We did not convert. If we had, we would have given ourselves a real good opportunity to win a football game, but that wasn't the case."

Buffalo was trailing after the first half and, after an exchange of punts, cut into its deficit.

On the first play of the drive, Lynch busted through the line for a 50-yard run to get the ball to the San Francisco nine-yard-line. However, the Bills were unable to punch the ball into the end zone and Rian Lindell's 22-yard field goal made it a 10-3 game with 8:54 left in the third.

San Francisco drove into Buffalo territory on its next touch, but Gore fumbled the ball and Buffalo recovered at its own 18.

The Bills went on a lengthy drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters -- and faced with 4th-and-2 at the seven-yard-line -- opted to go for it with Losman's pass to Lee Evans falling incomplete to turn the ball over.

"It's really hard to put your finger on one thing," Evans said. When you get down (in the red zone), you have to have a certain attitude. You have to be able to get it in the end zone. We really didn't have a whole lot of balance, and it cost us."

San Fran had to punt the ball, though, and Buffalo got a 26-yard return from Roscoe Parrish. Coupled with an unnecessary roughness call on the 49ers, the Bills started with the ball at the 49ers 25.

However, the team was unable to move the ball and Lindell attempted a 40-yard field goal, but for the second time in the game, his attempt hit off the left upright with about 5 1/2 minutes to play.

"It was going to come down to the defense," 49ers head coach Mike Singletary said. "It was going to come down to trying to keep them out of the end zone, particularly in the red zone defense. To be able to do it, they're a good team in the red zone, and we did a good job. So, I'm excited about what our defense was able to do."

The Bills defense eventually stopped the 49ers and got the ball back right after the two-minute warning, but they were unable to move the ball and the 49ers escaped with the win.

"It gives us confidence," Singletary said of the win. "These guys are working hard. They're trying to do all the things that we're asking them to do. When you stay together and work together and fight together and win together, it's something that's very, very rewarding."

The 49ers started the game with the ball and marched down the field to take the early lead. A healthy mix of runs and passes, including an 18-yard pass to Bruce on 3rd-and-10, got the 49ers to a 1st-and-goal. On second down, Hill and Bruce hooked up on a 12-yard score for a 7-0 lead with 6:51 left in the first.

Buffalo had to punt on its first possession of the game, but got into scoring position on its second touch with a drive that spanned the first and second quarters. Lindell lined up for a 20-yard field goal, but the snap was high and he hit it off the left upright with a bit over seven minutes left in the first half.

With time winding down in the first half, Lynch fumbled the ball in his own territory and San Francisco recovered at the Buffalo 41. The team was only able to move the ball nine yards, but Joe Nedney nailed a 50-yard field goal with 11 ticks left on the clock and San Francisco took a 10-0 lead into the locker room.

Game Notes

Buffalo hosts Miami next Sunday...San Francisco next hosts the Jets also on Sunday...Bruce's TD was the 90th of his career...Lindell had made 53 consecutive field goals from inside the 40-yard line before the miss in the first half...Evans had seven catches for 80 yards...Each team had three sacks in the game...Buffalo starting strong safety Donte Whitner was inactive for the game with a separated shoulder.