As expected, the Buccaneers were lit up by the 49ers playmakers like Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Sammuel, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffery in a 27-14 loss to San Francisco
The Bucs tried their darndest to make it close near the end with a fourth quarter touchdown and a possession that ended up inside the 49ers 10-yard line before quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a pick on a pass intended for Chris Godwin.
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Unfortunately the Buccaneers just aren’t talented enough both in their coaching staff and roster to keep up with elite teams like the 49ers, who are now 7-3, and it showed.
Top to bottom the Bucs were outplayed, outcoached, and outclassed. While the 49ers play calling (as it always does) centered around getting their elite playmakers the ball in open space, the Buccaneers continued to run weird bubble screens and swing passes to guys like Trey Palmer and Cade Otton, while Mike Evans and Chris Godwin combined for two targets in the first half.
Mayfield also made some silly mistakes, with the aforementioned pick and a fumble on an attempted scramble in the first quarter that went awry.
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As the game went on, San Francisco moved the ball with great ease on a Bucs defense that hobbled to the finish line, with Lavonte David, Carlton Davis, and Jamel Dean all going down with injuries at some point during the game.
San Francisco QB Brock Purdy finished the game with a perfect passer rating on 21/25 with 333 yards and three passing TDs (talk about symmetry).
Mayfield had to attempt 45 passes due to a combination of being down early and the run game being its usual bleh self, only racking up 66 yards as a team and a single short-yardage TD from Rachaad White at the end of the game.
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All in all, things went about as poorly as expected against the far superior 49ers, and the blame can be spread pretty equally across the team, from the odd play calling of offensive coordinator Dave Canales, Todd Bowles seeming to be unable to properly prepare his secondary for the second time in three weeks, Mayfield making some unforced errors, and the run game continuing to be a hindrance.
It’s all bad, and it’s still 100% a Bucs life.
Follow @ctbrantley12 on Twitter and listen to him on the RBLR Bucs podcast
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This article originally appeared on CLTAMPA.COM and is used with permission.
Follow @ctbrantley12 on Twitter and listen to him on the RBLR Bucs podcast