If you were to only look at the box score, you’d think the 49ers came out in the second half and ran all over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This is why it’s important to actually watch the game. You can feel the contest.
Brock Purdy threw for three times more yards than Baker Mayfield on Sunday. Did it feel like he had a better game?
The Niners nearly doubled the overall offensive output of the Bucs. Did it feel like it?
The Niners might have won 23-20 on Sunday, but if you watched it, you’d be hard-pressed to say the victory was deserved.
But a win is a win, and the Niners aren’t in a position to turn any of them down.
STUDS 💪
Ricky Pearsall • WR
Wide open most of the game, Pearsall looked like the perfect Niners’ receiver on his 46-yard touchdown catch, running a deep dig behind the linebackers. Then, he was instrumental in setting up the game-winning field goal.
It’s a shame Purdy — who spent the first eight weeks of the season not looking at his X receiver; a byproduct of not having Brandon Aiyuk in training camp — so rarely looked his way.
Jauan Jennings • WR
The only receiver that Brock Purdy seems to trust, Jennings caught 7 passes for 93 yards. But his most important play of the game was his recovery of Brock Purdy’s sack fumble in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. He’s the Niners’ new No. 1.
Christian McCaffrey • RB
Kyle Shanahan was always going to use McCaffrey like he was 100 percent healthy.
The 49ers running back looked like his old self, and Shanahan didn’t hold back on making him the offense’s focal point.
That was a smart play, because his impact was necessary, not only in creating zone-coverage looks in the pass game, but also as a running back and pass catcher.
McCaffrey was dynamic as a runner and receiver, and without him, one wonders if San Francisco would have been in this game at all.
DUDS 📉
49ers defensive line
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield is a quick thrower of the ball.
He didn’t need to be quick on Sunday. He had all day to throw.
Nick Bosa was a non-factor for the vast majority of the game, despite going against backup left tackle (and former Niner) Justin Skule. While, Bosa did have a key sack in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter — his only registered pressure of the game — he ended up holding Mayfield’s hand on the game-deciding fourth-down under two minutes to play.
Leonard Floyd had one pressure, coming early in the game. Everyone else was washed out by a solid but not remarkable Bucs offensive line.
The Niners’ front four couldn’t stop the run and they couldn’t pressure the quarterback. It’s a terrible combination, which is anything but surprising.
Why did the Niners not acquire an impact defensive lineman at the trade deadline again?
Jake Moody and Kyle Shanahan
At what point will Shanahan learn?
I won’t go in on a kicker returning from an ankle injury. You don’t need me to tell you he had a terrible, game-losing performance, even after hitting the game-winning field goal.
But I will blame the head coach for:
Not caring enough about the kicking game to properly evaluate Moody during the week.Putting far too much of the game on said kicker’s foot, even when it was evident to everyone he was overcompensating on his kicks.
It all goes back to something simple but insidious: The 49ers head coach treats field goals as made when he calls the offense for a game, which leads to him far too often conceding possessions for the sake of three points.
You have to adapt as a coach. You must be more aggressive with your playcalling when your kicker is unreliable. You can’t be playing for field goals when field goals are anything but guaranteed.
Deebo Samuel • WR
After fighting his hands and feet all game, the one-time great decided to fight with long-snapper Tabor Pepper. Samuel looks like he’s running in mud as a running back, and he’s fighting the ball as a receiver. There were some strong plays on Sunday — no doubt — but Samuel had a hit rate of 50 percent. It wasn’t near good enough. It certainly wasn’t good enough to be picking fights with teammates over.
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