Niners Nation
The 49ers battled through numerous mistakes and adversity, but found a way to win a big game.
The San Francisco 49ers battled for a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road on Sunday, improving to 5-4 on the season off the bye week.
It was an ugly game for the 49ers, who had multiple opportunities to extend the lead, but couldn’t close the game, giving the Buccaneers multiple chances to stay close and even tie the game.
Offensively, the 49ers connected on explosives, but couldn't finish drives consistently, leading to a whopping six field goal tries, of which Jake Moody hit three.
Defensively, San Francisco limited the Buccaneers to just 215 yards of total offense, but mistakes hurt them and allowed Tampa Bay to get within scoring range on multiple occasions.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 49ers have had special teams issues all year long. Be it problems in the return game, kicking game, or kickoff game, there’s usually been at least one problem that arises in every game.
And many of those issues popped up in this one, nearly costing the 49ers the game.
The 49ers settled for an early field goal attempt in the red zone, which Jake Moody drilled. But, the problems started from there, as Moody missed a 49-yard field goal wide left during a two-minute drill that kept the game at one score heading into halftime.
Then, after forcing a punt on a three-and-out to open the second half, San Francisco had a muffed punt that directly led to a Tampa Bay touchdown, tying the score at 10 a piece.
San Francisco kicked yet another field goal in the red zone, failing to capitalize once again inside the 20-yard line, and then Moody missed his second field goal of the day, this time hitting wide left on a 50-yarder.
Moody’s issues weren’t done just yet, as the 49ers had a chance to extend their lead to six points late in the fourth quarter, once again driving and failing to get into the end zone, instead giving Moody a 44-yard opportunity. But, the kicker missed wide right this time, paving the way for Tampa Bay to have a comeback.
Penalties bumped Tampa Bay into a goal-to-go situation with less than a minute remaining, and the 49ers defense held stiff, keeping the Buccaneers at a field goal to give Brock Purdy and Co. a chance for a walk-off victory.
This time, Moody delivered, as his 44-yard field goal sneaked just inside the uprights to give the 49ers the walk-off victory in a thriller.
It was another ugly game for the 49ers special teams, but they managed a way to get things done and earn a much-needed win on the road.
It wasn’t a pretty first half for the 49ers. They punted at the Tampa Bay 39-yard line, kicked a field goal in the red zone, and missed another...
