Josh Allen has TDs passing, rushing and receiving as Bills rout 49ers 35-10 in snow, clinch AFC East

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — 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.”

Cooper said he acted on instinct in a play that could well have been drawn up in the snow on the sideline.

“I was wondering what he was doing over there,” Cooper said. “I figured he was over there because he wanted the ball, so I gave it to him.”

Snow flew like confetti in celebration from the packed stands as the Bills (10-2) scored on four of five possessions spanning halftime to build a 28-3 lead, starting with Ray Davis’ 5-yard run. James Cook scored on a career-high 65-yard run and finished with 107 yards rushing.

The defending NFC champion 49ers (5-7) unraveled as they dropped their third straight and lost running back Christian McCaffrey to what coach Kyle Shanahan said was a potential season-ending injury to the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

Shanahan believes McCaffrey was hurt on an 18-yard run up the middle. The All-Pro running back stayed in the game and on the next play appeared to step awkwardly with his left foot on the snow-slicked field and went down immediately. After being examined on the sideline, he limped to the locker room and was ruled out at the start of the second half.

McCaffrey had 53 yards on seven carries when he exited the game, his fourth after missing the first eight of the season with Achilles tendinitis.

“It feels dark and gloomy and absolutely depressing, honestly I’ll feel that probably in a couple hours,” tight end George Kittle said. “The only way to make this feel better is to go take advantage of next week and try to get a win.”

Very little went right for the 49ers in an outing they lost three fumbles and Jake Moody missed two of three field-goal attempts. San Francisco was also missing five starters due to injury and is now in jeopardy of missing the playoffs a season after losing the Super Bowl to Kansas City.

Moody opened the scoring with a 33-yard field goal and Isaac Guerendo scored on a 15-yard run. Brock Purdy, coming back after missing one game with a sore throwing shoulder, finished 11 of 18 for 94 yards.

Allen finished 13 of 17 passing for 148 yards and two touchdowns, three rushes for 18 yards and a score, and zero catches for 7 yards and a TD. He was serenaded by fans with chants of “MVP!” and sat out most of the fourth quarter.

“It's a good feeling. This one feels a little bit different this early in the season,” Allen said of clinching the division while also staying in the hunt to catch Kansas City (11-1) for the AFC's top seed. “It’s going to be fun, I mean, to go out there and play free and play relaxed and play loose. I think that could be a dangerous team.”

Allen now has scored 247 career TDs (186 passing, 59 rushing and two receiving) to break Hall of Famer Jim Kelly’s franchise record of 244.

Buffalo has won seven straight since back-to-back losses to Baltimore and Houston, and is 10-2 or better for the fifth time in team history and first since 1991. The Bills became the NFL’s eighth team, and first since Indianapolis in 2009, to clinch a division title with five games remaining.

Buffalo extended its run of scoring 30 or more points to six straight games, while the Niners dropped to 0-5 when scoring 20 or fewer.

49ers: Host Chicago next Sunday.

Bills: At the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Snow falls at Highmark Stadium during the second half of an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) looks to pass against the Buffalo Bills during the first half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mack Hollins, middle left, scores a touchdown past San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward (7) during the first half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Curtis Samuel, right, is tackled by San Francisco 49ers safety Ji'Ayir Brown during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

San Francisco 49ers running back Jordan Mason (24) runs against Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

San Francisco 49ers running back Isaac Guerendo, right, runs for a touchdown past Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) passes against the Buffalo Bills during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, middle, scores past San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) dives for the end zone to score against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — James Harden scored 39 points — making all 13 of his free throws — and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame Nikola Jokic’s triple-double to beat the Denver Nuggets 126-122 on Sunday night.

Jokic finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his eighth triple-double of the season.

Harden narrowly missed a triple-double of his own, finishing with nine rebounds and 11 assists.

Norman Powell added 28 points for the Clippers in his return after missing six games because of an injury.

Harden made three 3-pointers in the first half, giving him 3,000 in his career.

The Clippers made three consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth to lead by seven. Jokic hit a 3-pointer and fed Aaron Gordon for a dunk to draw the Nuggets within one.

After the Clippers went up by seven, Harden turned the ball over under pressure by Gordon in his return from injury. The Nuggets missed their first shot, got the offensive rebound and Christian Braun scored, leaving them trailing 123-121 with 19 seconds remaining.

The Nuggets opened the third with a 21-11 run to put the Clippers down 10. But Los Angeles rallied behind six 3-pointers — three each by Harden and Powell — to lead 92-90 going into the fourth.

Nuggets: They've now lost twice to the Clippers.

Clippers: They twice owned leads of 11 points in the first two quarters only to watch Denver tie it at halftime. But they stayed steady down the stretch, making 8 of 9 free throws.

Jokic was 2 of 4 from the free-throw line, missing a crucial one with 9 seconds to go and the Nuggets down by three.

The Clippers made 17 3-pointers while the Nuggets only attempted 21 from long range.

Nuggets host Golden State and Los Angeles hosts Portland in NBA Cup games on Tuesday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell, right, shoots as Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook, center, soots as Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann, left, and guard Amir Coffey defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, right, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers guard Terance Mann defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook, right, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden looks toward the scoreboard after making a three-point shot that put him at 2,998 points for three-point shots during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, ties up Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac as Zubac tries to shoot during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)