Niners Nation
Mistakes were still plentiful, but the 49ers found a way to win. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters
The San Francisco 49ers received the ball to begin the game. They got off to a hot start, but Brock Purdy missed Ricky Pearsall, which led to punting in Tampa Bay’s territory.
The defense felt the loss of Charvarius Ward on the first third down of the game, as Cade Otton beat Isaac Yiadom for a first down. The Buccaneers didn’t have the same success on the ensuing third down. Not many teams do when they target Fred Warner.
The signs were there from the offense on the first drive. They did not disappoint on the second drive. McCaffrey made a player miss to convert a critical 2nd & 5 and avoid a third down. Brock Purdy found Ricky Pearsall for 46 yards and Pearsall’s first career score. It was an impressive anticipation throw from Brock, and Pearsall turned the jets on to race in the end zone.
Ricky Pearsall reached 19.47 mph on that 46-yard TD, per Next Gen Stats. That’s the fastest time by a 49ers ball-carrier since Deebo Samuel in Week 6.
Maliek Collins had a sack on the second drive. The defense was equally impressive as the offense to start, outside of the third down conversion. The 49ers have banked on their opponents failing to convert on third downs, and Tampa Bay was one for their first three.
During the broadcast, Tom Brady called Jauan Jennings the best third-down option for the offense. That’s probably coming from the coaching staff during pre-production meetings. Jennings converted back-to-back third downs right after Brady said that.
The 49ers red zone issues resurfaced. After a run for one yard, two incomplete passes forced a 28-yard field goal from Jake Moody. His kick was good to make it 10-0. Still, a first-down run and no passes to McCaffrey were surprising.
The Buccaneers put together a 13-play, 58-yard play drive that took over seven minutes off the clock. Baker Mayfield was never going down without a fight. Tampa Bay converted a pair of third downs before De’Vondre Campbell made a tackle for loss.
However, there was an egregious clock mismanagement. Kyle Shanahan could have called a timeout at 1:48. Instead, the Buccaneers ran the clock down to 1:14 before kicking a field goal to trim the lead to 10-3.
Jennings caught a 30-yard pass on first down, which put the offense inside Buccaneers territory. Purdy was off-target on the next two throws, making it 3rd &10. A Pearsall reception put the offense in Moody’s range. Moody’s kick was wide from 49 yards.
Mayfield had 25 seconds left and three timeouts from the 39-yard line to make something happen. Tristan Wirfs was out, which meant old friend Justin Skule would be the left tackle for the rest of the game.
Cade Otton dropped a critical pass, which helped the defense get off the field, and that took us to halftime. San...
