Maiocco’s 49ers Report Card: Team grades in harrowing win vs. Bucs

Maiocco’s 49ers Report Card: Team grades in harrowing win vs. Bucs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

TAMPA, Fla. — The 49ers’ 2024 NFL season was teetering on the brink.

So, too, were their grades for their Week 10 performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 49ers erased a lot of wrongs when quarterback Brock Purdy drove the 49ers into range for Jake Moody’s 44-yard field goal, which came after three misses.

And the 49ers escaped with a 23-20 victory that provided them with their first two-game win streak of the season.

“This was a character game all the way through,” 49ers linebacker Fred Warner said.

All areas of the 49ers experienced issues. But all areas ultimately did enough to win the game.

Here is the 49ers’ report card from their harrowing journey that produced a crucial victory over the Buccaneers:

Rushing offense

The 49ers had a difficult time getting anything going on the ground. Christian McCaffrey made his return to action and he managed just 39 yards rushing on 13 carries for a 3.0 average.

Purdy picked up 17 yards on four scrambles, and Deebo Samuel had 14 yards on three attempts.

The 49ers had just three first downs rushing in the game.

Grade: D-plus

Passing offense

Purdy did a good job of spreading it around in the passing game and incorporating five different pass-catchers into a big part of the offense.

He finished with 353 yards on 25-of-36 passing. Purdy hit Ricky Pearsall and George Kittle on touchdown throws and did not have a turnover in the game.

Jauan Jennings’ return to the lineup gave the 49ers a boost. He had seven receptions for 93 yards. Pearsall finished with four catches for 73 yards and a 46-yard touchdown that opened the scoring.

McCaffrey did more damage as a receiver, as he caught six passes for 68 yards. Kittle came up with one of the big plays of the game with his leaping grab in the back left corner of the end zone.

Grade: A

Rushing defense

The 49ers’ run defense had a difficult time containing rookie Bucky Irving, who gained 73 yards on 13 carries.

The 49ers did a much better job on the other Tampa Bay running backs. The Bucs had 110 yards rushing on 27 attempts for a 4.1-yard average.

There were still way too many missed tackles for the 49ers — a problem that plagued the team in the first half of the season. Warner led the way with nine tackles.

Defensive tackle Evan Anderson made a huge play to throw Rachaad White for a 3-yard loss after the Bucs drove to the 5-yard line late in the game. That run stuff proved big, as Tampa Bay had to settle for a game-tying field goal.

Grade: B-minus

Passing defense

The 49ers did a good job against Tampa Bay’s passing game, though they did not generate any takeaways.

The 49ers limited Baker Mayfield to only 116 yards passing while he completed 18 of 29 pass attempts.

The 49ers also registered two sacks against Mayfield, as Maliek Collins and Nick Bosa broke through to throw him for losses.

Rookie cornerback Renardo Green made the start in place of Charvarius Ward, and he broke up two passes and had a solid game. Deommodore Lenoir was rarely tested on the other side.

Grade: B-plus

Special teams

This was about as bad as it gets for the 49ers in this phase of the game with three missed field goals and a muffed punt leading directly to Tampa Bay’s first touchdown of the game.

But, we suppose, all is OK because Moody made a 44-yard kick as time expired to allow the 49ers to overcome all the other mistakes on special teams.

Moody missed three field goals, and Darrell Luter allowed Tampa Bay’s Tavierre Thomas to block him into Jacob Cowing, which resulted in a muffed punt.

The way the game ended, with Moody making his final chance, means the 49ers’ special teams were not a total failure. Close, but not quite.

Grade: D-minus

Coaching

Coach Kyle Shanahan said he impressed upon his team that the Buccaneers would be ready to play, desperate for a win and would battle to the end.

Shanahan said he was proud of how the team rebounded well enough in all three phases to pull out the victory.

Shanahan’s clock management at the end of the first half was questioned, but the 49ers did not run out of time. On a fourth-and-3 play with 29 seconds left, Moody missed his first field goal of the game.

Contrast that with the end of the game, when Shanahan called all the right shots for the 49ers to move 39 yards down the field on four pass attempts to get into field-goal range.

Defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen dialed it up defensively, holding the Buccaneers to just 105 net yards passing.

Grade: C-plus

Overall

The same issues that plagued the 49ers in the first half of the season were again on display on Sunday.

The 49ers had their issues in the red zone and on special teams. It was a high-wire act, but the 49ers emerged with a much-needed victory.

It was not even close to being perfect, but they will take the win that enables them to keep pace near the top of the NFC West.

Grade: C-plus

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