By Morris Phillips

Kap—or no Kap—the 49ers have significant work to do.

The addition of the team’s best-known player into the starting lineup on Sunday in Buffalo did little to change this stark reality: after getting throttled 45-16 by the Bills, the 49ers have dropped five consecutive games for the first time in more than a decade.

With Kaepernick, the 49ers aren’t any closer to being a playoff contender, or a significant player on the lesser landscape of the NFC West. In fact, with Kaepernick or the benched Blaine Gabbert, the 49ers maybe greater impacted by the loss of defensive leader NaVorro Bowman.

On Sunday, it sure appeared that was the case. Overshadowing what Kaepernick did or didn’t do was the 312 yards rushing the 49ers’ defense surrendered to the Bills, including 140 yards and three touchdowns to LeSean McCoy, who seemed to be mystery in cleats to a number of lunging San Francisco defenders.

“To get the ball run on you like that, when you know they’re going to run, we just have to stop making the same mistakes, stay in our gaps, make the tackle,” safety Eric Reid said.

“There were a lot of missed tackles today just from my vantage point on the sideline,” Coach Chip Kelly said.

Here’s some historical perspective on all the juking and dashing the Bills did on Sunday: the 312 yards was the biggest total the Bills had enjoyed in a game since 1992. The 49ers had allowed more than 312 yards only once in their franchise history, in 1958.

The 49ers found themselves in a competitive game at the half, trailing 17-13. Kaepernick had a hand in that, hooking up with Torrey Smith on a 53-yard pass play that gave the 49ers a brief 10-7 lead in the second quarter. Kaepernick also had some success running the ball, but in the end his impact as starter was miniscule. The 49ers failed to convert 12 of their 15 third and fourth-down opportunities, and Kaepernick failed to complete half of his passes (13 of 29).

Defensively, things started respectably as well. The 49ers had some success with their pass rush against one of the league’s least productive pass offenses. But after Bills’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor was sacked and stripped of the ball by Arik Armstead, the Bills stuck to the run for the remainder of the first half.   Among the bright spots, Armstead and rookie DeForest Buckner combined for three sacks and two tackles for losses.

McCoy rushed for more than 100 yards in the first half for the second consecutive week. The Pro Bowl back suffered an injury scare before halftime, bumping knees with the 49ers’ Nick Bellore and taking several minutes to return to the Bills’ bench. But McCoy continued his onslaught in the second half, and got ample support from Taylor and backup Mike Gillislee, who scored the games’ final points on a 44-yard run with 5:40 remaining.

The 49ers played without Jaquiski Tartt and Jimmy Ward, thinning their secondary. They also lost corner Rashard Robinson to injury during the game. In Ward’s absence, rookie Keith Reaser made his first NFL start.

The 49ers return home on Sunday to host the Buccaneers, and will face the Saints a week later, also at Levi’s Stadium.