Bucs Takeaways: A Failure To Capitalize
Credit: Junfu Han - Imagn Images
In a mistake-filled afternoon on both sides of the ball, the San Fransisco 49ers edged out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an overtime affair by a final score of 23-20.
The bye week couldn’t come at a better time
On paper, when fully healthy, the Bucs are a seriously talented team. They have a high flying passing offense, a multi-faceted rushing attack, and good pass protection for Baker Mayfield. While Mayfield has only been sacked on 6.52% of his attempts to pass, the Bucs got some pretty rough injury news that might leave the anchor of their offensive line out for the foreseeable future.
Losing Tristan Wirfs is brutal, man.
Look at this guy. pic.twitter.com/WWeiBbuAA7
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) November 11, 2024
Any snap without Tristan Wirfs, who has the highest pass blocking grade in the NFL (92.5), is a tough one. An offense that lost Mike Evans and Chris Godwin already will suffer even further after Wirfs, who was diagnosed with a sprained MCL, will also have to miss some time. There’s a chance that Evans will be able to return after the bye, but the loss of Wirfs will be brutal for Baker Mayfield’s pass protection.
Justin Skule came in relief for Wirfs, and was serviceable, allowing only one sack and two pressures on 21 pass blocking attempts.
The good news for the Bucs is that the bye week has finally arrived, which gives Evans and Wirfs a bit of extra time to recover from their injuries. There is a decent chance that Evans returns immediately after the bye, but Wirfs will likely have to miss a couple games. Unfortunately for the Bucs, Wirfs may have to miss the November 24th bout against the Giants, who lead the NFL in defensive sacks. That said, Evans’ return will be a welcome one, because…
Baker played tough despite a thin receiver room
Baker Mayfield did not light up the stat sheet, as he had 116 passing yards on Sunday. It was the fourth lowest yardage total of his career, and the fewest yards he’s thrown for in a game in which he did not also throw an interception. Even worse, the wide receiver room had a grand total of four receptions on ten targets for 28 yards, which is fewer than half of the yards that every single 49ers pass catcher had on Sunday. Ryan Miller (11 yards), Rakim Jarrett (10 yards), and Sterling Shepard (7 yards) were severely limited, and Trey Palmer, Marquez Callaway, and Jalen McMillan were all held catchless.
However, Baker Mayfield was able to keep the Bucs competitive thanks to his other pass catchers and his typical tough style of play. He had to lean on his running back duo of Rachaad White and Bucky Irving (who each had touchdowns), and Cade Otton, who totaled 35 receiving yards and has quietly been one of the better receiving tight ends in the league of late. On multiple occasions, Baker was able to escape heavy pressure and make the most of bad situations despite a receiver room that wasn’t able to do him many favors.
This is the most insane 4th down conversion I’ve seen in my life.
Baker Mayfield is HIM. pic.twitter.com/BaSyUYWmTO
— JC Cornell (@CornellNFL) November 10, 2024
The play received high praise from the Bucs’ most recent starting QB and color commentator Tom Brady, who called it “one of the best plays I’ve ever seen a quarterback make”.
The Bucs’ couldn’t capitalize on the 49ers’ mistake-filled day
The 49ers played an extremely imperfect game on Sunday. Despite a mere 39 rushing yards from Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco only punted once thanks to effective QB play from Brock Purdy. However, three missed field goals by Jake Moody and a muffed punt return by Jacob Cowing kept the game competitive.
Tampa was able to turn the muffed punt into a touchdown, but the three missed field goals were a different story. The first two missed field goals by Moody resulted in three-and-out possessions by Tampa Bay. The third missed field goal, on the other hand, resulted in a Bucs drive that went inside San Francisco’s ten yard line. However, the Bucs could not convert, and Todd Bowles had to settle for a Chase McLaughlin field goal. The 49ers turned around, drove into field goal range in 41 seconds, and Jake Moody connected on a game winning field goal as time expired.
“We’ve got to play smarter football,” Todd Bowles said. “There’s nothing wrong with how hard we’re playing and how tough we’re playing, but (we’ve) got to finish games. We’re making way too many mistakes at the end.”
Tampa had a major opportunity to gain ground on the division-leading Falcons, whose kicker, Younghoe Koo, had three missed field goals of his own. However, they produced meagerly on offense and couldn’t overcome the strong performance from Brock Purdy. As a result, the Falcons, who lost to the lowly Saints, still sit atop the NFC South with a 6-4 record and have a cozy two game lead on the Bucs.
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