Home NFL X Marks The Spot! X-Factor Matchup: 49ers vs Buccaneers

Buccaneers defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr / via buccaneers.com

X Marks The Spot! X-Factor Matchup: 49ers vs Buccaneers

October 10, 2025

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are preparing for a week six showdown with the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams enter this game 4-1 and one will walk away continuing to have a claim to the best record in the NFL. It should make for a great game and a potential playoff preview.

In these types of games, there are always great matchups all over the field. However, with both teams coming in with significant injuries up and down the roster we are robbed of some of those matchups. Even so, there is one chess match that stands out that should be pretty interesting.

X marks the spot! Here is my week six X-Factor matchup.

Antoine Winfield Jr vs 49ers Quarterback

At this exact point and time, we don’t know who the starting quarterback will be on Sunday. Normal starter Brock Purdy did not practice on Wednesday as he continues to recover from injury, so we’ll have to see how that progresses. Odds are it will probably be Mac Jones who starts, but he was also limited in practice with a listed knee and oblique injury.

Let’s assume that it will in fact be Jones playing this weekend. That is probably the best situation for the 49ers because he’s been notably better this year than Purdy. In fact, Jones has never looked better than he has this year in the Kyle Shanahan offense.

Jones is averaging just over 300 yards per game and two touchdowns per game in his three starts this year. On top of that, he has only thrown one interception this year. The 49ers are 3-0 in these starts.

This is particularly impressive considering who’s not on the field for San Francisco. Deebo Samuel traded in the offseason and Brandon Aiyuk injured for the entire year so far means the 49ers top two play makers haven’t been around for Jones to throw to. Star tight end George Kittle has also only played one game this season, so that’s another major pass catcher gone.

Despite all this, Jones and the 49ers have been making plays. Only four teams in the NFL have more 20+ yard pass completions than San Francisco. It has been a surprisingly explosive passing attack considering all of their injuries.

Not letting them hit on these big plays will be critical for the Bucs. This puts pressure not only on the cornerbacks, but on the over the top help from the safeties. Fortunately, one of the best safeties in the NFL just so happens to play in Tampa Bay.

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Antoine Winfield Jr has played very well this season (as you would expect from a first team All Pro caliber player). He already has one forced fumble and a pair of pass deflections along with a would-be interception that was erased due to a penalty. He is back at full strength this year after injuries derailed his 2024 season.

It will be Winfield playing over the top for a lot of this game. Although Bowles will use him in blitz packages, this star safety is also the Buccaneers most trusted player in the secondary. If there was someone to be the last line of defense then of course it would be Winfield.

So now the matchup is set. Will Jones be able to keep airing the ball out for chunk plays with an elite safety like Winfield on the back end? Whoever wins this battle will likely put their team in position to win on Sunday.

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