Niners Nation
The amount of progress is up to you.
The San Francisco 49ers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20. This was thanks to kicker Jake Moody getting two tries to win it. It was also thanks to Brock Purdy showing you he’s an elite quarterback who has had enough of the team getting in their own way, leading the offense down the field for that anxiety-inducing field goal.
It was also a close game thanks to yet another 49ers’ special teams flub and the defense being unable to get out of their way at the worst time. In other words, it never should have been that close.
During the first half, the 49ers’ defense was solid, elite even. It was the offense having problems. The defense allowed the Buccaneers two conversions of the five third downs attempted—a nice step up for a unit that can’t get off the field.
Except there’s one problem: the Buccaneers’ offense kind of took a step back recently.
Neither wide receivers Mike Evans nor Chris Godwin were active for the game. That’s a devastating blow to Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. If Purdy has taught us anything, you need your weapons to be, you know, effective.
So Mayfield threw the ball to tight end Cade Otton in the first half for what seemed like a lot. This resulted in one of the two third down conversions in the first half: a third and 7 dart that Otton stuck his hands out across the line to gain to get the yards. Pretty impressive from Mayfield, facepalming for the 49ers’ defense.
The 49ers tightened things up, and Otton only wound up with five receptions on eight targets. Thirty-five of Mayfield’s 116 yards went to this guy.
You read that right; 116 yards is all Mayfield had. For some, the game may not have felt that way. It doesn’t help a quarterback’s stat line when the ball passes through his receivers’ hands, which the Buccaneers seemed to do on more than one occasion.
It also shouldn’t help your quarterback’s stat line when he loses his elite left tackle. Buccaneers left tackle Tristan Wirfs left the game with a knee injury. That meant Nick Bosa could have an afternoon, right?
That afternoon was four tackles, three solo, and one crucial sack later in the game. Considering Bosa was dealing with a hip injury leading into the game and even mentioned it during the post-game, perhaps that’s expected.
And to be fair, the Buccaneers were throwing underneath routes all day and getting the ball out as quickly as possible because of Bosa, but the stat remains. Unfortunately, Bosa’s sack won’t be the play from this game we remember, nor the context behind it. Instead, he’ll be remembered getting stiff-armed by Mayfield AND Mayfield managing to complete the pass to move the chains.
Baker Mayfield has come a long way since his days with the Cleveland Browns:
So, some good and bad from a defense that went up against an offense that has...
