These two teams are nearly unrecognizable from how most expected them to look at the beginning. The Buccaneers are missing every WR except for Emeka Egbuka, plus Bucky Irving, and Luke Goedeke. And that’s not even looking at the defense. Meanwhile the 49ers have lost, deep breath, Brock Purdy, Brandon Aiyuk, Nick Bosa, Ricky Pearsall, Yetur Gross-Matos, and just so many more. This is an injury bowl through and through.
Outside just surviving, the Bucs defense needs to make sure to lock down Mac Jones’ remaining weapons. Mac has looked surprisingly strong for the Niners, which I guess is what happens when you aren’t being coached by Joe Judge and Matt Patricia. And one of the most worrying things for the Bucs is that he is particularly strong against the blitz. He has not thrown a pick when blitzed and has 4 TDs. So it either means Bowles really needs to get creative, or play way more man coverage. His favorite target seems to be Kendrick Bourne, so I think Jamel Dean should be following him most the game.
Also, I think we just have to resign ourselves to the CMC 100 yard game. It’s just going to happen. The Bucs LBs are just awful at covering RBs, and CMC is one of the best at catching the ball as a running back. I’m not going to offer any advice outside of just getting new LBs yesterday. Just come to terms with it.
On offense, they just need to keep it moving. They were excellent against a depleted Seahawks secondary, but the 49ers are a different challenge. Now we have to worry about Fred Warner. I think the biggest wildcard for the Bucs will be Tez Johnson. He definitely had some flashes last week, but still was only getting limited snaps, I assume due to his size. With everyone ahead of him injured, now’s as good a time as any to show up. It goes without saying, but Emeka will be garnering most of the defense’s attention. Hopefully that means guys like Sterling Shepard can get open for Baker.
I also think we need the Rachaad White 100 scrimmage yards. He was a big reason why the Bucs offense was mostly on schedule last week and he needs to do it again. Charlie Heck against Mykel Williams scares me, so Baker might need to go back to a lot of quick passes. White should be in the best position to benefit from that.
It just feels like a game the 49ers will win. They have had the Buc’s number since Bowles took over as HC. And even with their injuries, they look like a very strong team and coming off a mini bye. Mac Jones has done plenty in relief for Purdy. However, if there is one thing the Buccaneers have done well, it’s keep it interesting. They have won plenty of games I didn’t think they would. So maybe this is a different team, even with the injuries. This game will be for the early lead in the NFC, so there’s a lot riding on this.
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