Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers fell in a tough 30-19 game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road on Sunday, falling to 4-2 in the division.
It was a tough environment for the 49ers without quarterback Brock Purdy and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, and things only got worse with a season-ending injury for Fred Warner in the first half. Tampa Bay was dealing with its own injuries at wide receiver, but it never trailed and was able to keep control of the game for the most part.
Offensively, Mac Jones had two costly interceptions, both of which resulted in scoring drives for the Buccaneers. There were also drops and missed chances for touchdowns, while Tampa Bay capitalized, converting both of its red zone drives for touchdowns.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers’ 30-19 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday.
Defense has communication issues without Warner
The 49ers gave up 30 points for the first time this season, as their defense allowed four touchdowns and a field goal. Now, as mentioned above, the defense wasn’t responsible for some of those mistakes, as the Buccaneers had to go only two plays and 12 yards for a touchdown following Mac Jones’s first interception.
But Tampa Bay’s offense was rolling from the second quarter onwards after Fred Warner was carted off the field midway through the first quarter.
Here’s how Tampa Bay’s day went for the final three quarters:
Touchdown
Touchdown
End of Half
Touchdown
Missed Field Goal (49 yards)
Field Goal (45 yards)
End of Game
They were downright dominant, having the necessary answers to the 49ers’ offense, who helped them out with several coverage busts.
After San Francisco got things to 14-13 with a field goal, the Buccaneers were driving downfield and got a 34-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Kam Johnson, who had motioned across the formation and was left unguarded on a miscommunication.
Later, they gave up a 45-yard touchdown catch, which was the longest play the defense had given up all season, to Tez Johnson to give Tampa Bay a 27-19 lead on their opening drive in the third quarter. On the play, Renardo Green didn’t seem deep enough in his zone, while Marques Sigle was late to the receiver as the deep safety.
San Francisco will have to adjust to life without Warner, but those two coverage busts resulted in the biggest plays the defense had given up this season. With a young group, those mistakes are bound to happen. But the communication will need to improve heading into Week 7.
Eddy Dinero
It’s not the best thing when your team is kicking four field goals in a game, showing an inability to find the end zone. But, Eddy Piniero continued to be good ol’ reliable, hitting all four of his field goals to start the season a perfect 15/15.
That includes four makes from 50+, with Piniero hitting from 52, 54, 42, and 29 on Sunday. That’s a much different tone than what the team...
