The Tampa Bay Buccaneers started out slowly yesterday, allowing Kaepernick and the 49ers to march down the field and immediately score. Following that score came an interception of a pass intended for Mike Evans and San Fran took advantage of the turnover by scoring again.
However, that would be about as good as it gets for the 49ers. After the final touchdown that had the ‘9ers up 14-0, something clicked on the Tampa Bay team and the onslaught began. The running game came up big for Tampa and allowed the passing game to evolve. Tampa Bay had 300 total first-half offensive yards, and that was only the second time in 25 years that Tampa has achieved that feat.
Tampa’s rushing game continued to shred the 49ers defense, as multiple running backs combined to tally 244 yards rushing on the day. Jacquizz Rodgers came up big with 154 yards on the ground, 9 yards through the air, but did not find the end zone. Peyton Barber, however, scored the Buccaneers only rushing touchdown, and had 12 carries for 84 yards.
Jameis Winston had 269 yards passing and threw for three touchdowns. Mike Evans had 8 rec for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Russell Shepard played a pivotal role in keeping the Buccaneers drives alive and caught 5 passes for 77 yards and a Touchdown.
Adam Humphries caught two passes last night for 17 yards but was not targeted more than three times. Humphries also joined in on the rushing game as he was giving the ball one time and gained 6 yards. Cameron Brate was also only targeted 3 times and was able to catch all 3 for 29 yards.
The defense played outstanding football sacking Colin Kaepernick 4 times and caused him to fumble twice, one of which he lost. Noah Spence recorded his second sack of the season, as William Gholston, Gerald McCoy, and Jude Adjei-Barimah got in on the sack feast. Barmimah’s sack forced Kaep to fumble and Gerald Mccoy recovered. Bradley McDougald has the Buccaneers only interception of the evening and overall the Safety’s played well, despite Chris Conte’s unnecessary roughness penalty for a high hit on a receiver early in the first quarter.
Robert Aguayo was 2 for 3 on field goals and 4 for 4 on extra points he walked away with a solid evening and accounted for 10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers points.
Overall the Buccaneers played well, despite the very slow start-up. The running game stayed consistent from start to finish and after not attempting one pass with their first drive of the evening, Jameis finished the night with an 117.2 passer rating. Tampa’s offense produced 513 net yards which are definitely a season high and it’s the third time the Bucs have topped .500 in two years. The defense stepped up, but the 49ers are not exactly the type of team you can brag about whipping, however, good the win is for team morale. The Buccaneers still have their work cut out for them, as they will face the Oakland Raiders next week in Tampa, and hope to win their first game at home.