After a 3-1 start, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended their Week 5 bye on a depressing four-game losing run. The San Francisco 49ers had a surprising three-game losing streak going into their Week Nine bye. With double-digit victories in Week 10, both teams proved they were right, but only one of them will carry that winning streak into Week 11.
The Buccaneers are getting ready to go across the nation to play the 49ers in Santa Clara; they are immediately recalling a trip that was similar in December of last year. San Francisco’s bewildering array of offensive skill-position players, led by quarterback Brock Purdy, overpowered the Bucs, who were headed for their second consecutive NFC South championship. The 49ers, riding a 12-game winning streak that carried them all the way to the NFC Championship Game, prevailed 35-7 in the match.
Although it was Purdy’s first career start, he has since made 17 starts, 13 of which have been in victories (he was forced to leave one of the four defeats, the NFC Championship Game, due to an elbow injury sustained in the first half). Purdy has improved upon his unexpected surge as a rookie by recording an NFL-best 9.3 yards per pass attempt and a league-leading 109.9 passer rating. And all the weapons that he used to accomplish that quick victory? They’re all still there, along with Trent Williams, the left tackle who is considered by Bucs starting linebacker Tristan Wirfs to be among the finest in the NFL at his position. Now that Deebo Samuel and Williams have both recovered from injury, Purdy can easily pass the ball to Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and Samuel—all of whom have already accumulated at least 446 yards from scrimmage.
In their 20-6 victory over the Titans last Sunday, the Buccaneers shut down Will Levis, Derrick Henry, DeAndre Hopkins, and their offense, but they are aware that a more complex task is ahead in the other Bay region.
Head coach Todd Bowles stated, “They’ve got a lot more weapons and YAC-yard guys than we’ve faced recently.” “They are all very capable of many things. Kittle is obviously included as well. All we need to do is be able to take on. We have to gang tackle and be where we need to be at the appropriate time.”
The Bucs’ dominance over the Titans, who managed only 209 yards and two field goals, was a response to their previous week’s defensive “clunker” in Houston. For the Bucs defense, which has largely kept the club in every game while a new offense has come together around Baker Mayfield, that 39-37 loss to the Texans appears to be the exception.
In reference to the Bucs’ defensive rebound, Bowles noted, “Everybody has got a lot of pride.” “You don’t want to play poorly and not learn anything from it. It’s not going to happen to you. You can either go in the tank again or take it on head-on. Those men are really proud. We’ve had a lot of successful football games in the past. Everyone knelt, placed their noses to the grindstone, and resumed their collective labor. They came out and participated in the game because they knew what we were capable of.”
Mayfield joined the Buccaneers in the summer to try to succeed retiring Tom Brady, thus he is even less experienced than Purdy in his present role. Mayfield was the top pick in the 2018 draft and is currently with his fourth team, whereas Purdy was notably the final chosen in the 2022 draft. After a dismal 2022, it’s evident that Mayfield is well on his way to reestablishing himself as a competent starting quarterback in the NFL almost halfway through his first season in Tampa. Mayfield has demonstrated a tendency for producing plays under duress thus far, as evidenced by his impressive 14-5 TD-INT ratio and 93.7 passer rating. To make this year’s trip to California much more enjoyable than last year’s, the Bucs will need to contain the pressure against a defensive front led by 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa.
There have been 26 games between the 49ers and Bucs, including postseason matchups, yet the history of those games cleanly splits into two very different series right around the midpoint.
Although San Francisco has an overwhelming 19-6 lead in the regular-season series overall, the 1997 season is also the point at which this head-to-head clash becomes competitive and separates a long-downtrodden squad from a thriving organization in Tampa. San Francisco had won 12 of the 13 meetings between the Buccaneers and 49ers between 1977 and 1994, frequently by large margins. Before 1997, San Francisco had won their previous four games by a total score of 138-58.
The Buccaneers then stunned the league in Week One of 1997, defeating Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and the 49ers (who would go all the way to the NFC Championship Game that season) 13-6. That was the first of Tampa Bay’s five consecutive victories to begin the 1997 season, which saw them snap a 15-year postseason drought. If one adds Tampa Bay’s 31-6 thrashing of the 49ers in the Divisional Round of the 2002 playoffs, the Bucs have amassed a 6-7 record in the rivalry since 1997, including that victory.
The 49ers defense had three interceptions in a 31-17 victory at Raymond James Stadium in 2019—the first of the team’s two most recent encounters with San Francisco. Ahkello Witherspoon’s 25-yard pick-six off Jameis Winston and a Robbie Gould field goal got the Buccaneers within 20-17 late in the fourth quarter, but the final pick allowed the visitors to pull away. Last year’s rematch between the Bucs and 49ers in San Francisco went even worse for Tampa Bay, as the soon-to-be fan favorite After making his first start, Brock Purdy showed remarkable improvement, finishing 16 of 21 throws for 185 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. In a 35-7 blowout, running back Christian McCaffrey scored once through the air and once on the ground.
Prior to the two games, Tampa Bay had won the series 34-17 in California in 2016 and 27-9 in Florida in 2018. In the former, the Buccaneers ran for 249 yards, with Jacquizz Rodgers scoring 154 on 26 carries to lead the way. In the latter, while Winston completed touchdown passes to Cam Brate and Adam Humphries, the Bucs defense intercepted Nick Mullens twice and sacked him four times.
The Bucs’ sole postseason matchup with San Francisco was the aforementioned 2002 Divisional Round victory. Brad Johnson completed two touchdown passes, Mike Alstott scored on two two-yard runs, and the Bucs’ defense held Jeff Garcia and the 49ers’ offense at bay with picks by Ronde Barber, Derrick Brooks, and Dwight Smith.
Regarding that pivotal match in 1997, it is well-known that Warren Sapp eliminated Young and Rice due to early injuries. The Bucs’ offense took a while to get going, but San Francisco was still able to lead 6-0 at halftime. The defense improved even more in the second half, giving up just 45 more yards. Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Trent Dilfer found tight end Dave Moore for a one-yard rollout touchdown pass, giving the Bucs their first lead. Fullback Mike Alstott, who finished with 119 yards from scrimmage, including 46 of the 53 yards on the game’s lone touchdown drive, supplied a large portion of the remaining offense. In the fourth quarter, Young returned to the game, but Hardy Nickerson sacked him and Tyrone Legette intercepted him on consecutive plays. This allowed Michael Husted to score the game’s final points by his second field goal, a 34-yarder.
