49ers vs buccaneers – Syndication Server

NFC playoff picture highlights why Week 10 win was vital for 49ers

The 49ers so badly needed that win over the Buccaneers. Peep the standings.

The San Francisco 49ers’ Week 10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t be confused for a football masterclass.

San Francisco missed three field goals, muffed a punt, went one-for-three in the red zone and committed four defensive penalties for 39 yards on Tampa Bay’s game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter.

While the victory might have left some scratching their heads about how good this 49ers team is, they needed to get a win to stick around in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt.

They got a little help from the Miami Dolphins on Monday night. They dropped the Los Angeles Rams 23-15 and moved them to 4-5 on the season. It leaves the NFC West standings looking like this after 10 weeks:

1. Cardinals (6-4)
2. 49ers (5-4)
3. Rams (4-5)
4. Seahawks (4-5)

A 49ers loss would have kept them in third place and even further behind the Arizona Cardinals for the division lead, and Arizona has a relatively soft schedule coming up after their Week 11 Bye. Keeping pace with them was a big deal for the 49ers.

San Francisco also climbed up the overall NFC playoff picture. They’re still not in the top seven, but a wild card spot seems far more attainable now than it would’ve had they dropped Sunday’s game in Tampa Bay.

At 5-4, the 49ers sit one game behind the Green Bay Packers for the seventh and final playoff spot. Here’s what the NFC playoff picture looks like after Week 10:

1. Lions (8-1)
2. Eagles (7-2)
3. Falcons (6-4)
4. Cardinals (6-4)
5. Vikings (7-2)
6. Commanders (7-3)
7. Packers (6-3)

8. 49ers (5-4)
9. Bears (4-5)
10. Rams (4-5)
11. Seahawks (4-5)

It’s not exactly where the 49ers wanted to be, but winning in Week 10 put them in position to make a run, and gave themselves a little bit of margin for error if they drop one of their upcoming games against the Seahawks, Packers or Bills.

Sunday might not have been pretty, but the 49ers got a win they needed. Now they need to find ways to play better down the stretch to take advantage of the spot they’re in entering Week 11.

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Don’t expect 49ers to move on from Jake Moody despite nightmare game

Jake Moody isn’t going anywhere for the 49ers.

San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody didn’t have his best game as a pro Sunday in Tampa Bay.

In fact, despite making the game-winning kick on the final play of the game, Moody might have had his worst overall game as a pro.

Moody missed three kicks during the 49ers’ tumultuous 23-20 win over the Buccaneers in his first game back from a high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 5. Despite the rough outing, head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t appear ready to move on from his kicker.

His answer when asked about Moody in a Monday conference call reflected his “you’re only as good as your last kick” sentiment from his postgame press conference Sunday.

“Not much different,” Shanahan said Monday. “He missed three kicks. I thought it wasn’t the easiest place to kick in. The wind was weird, especially the direction that he missed the stuff. It was different. But it was a few big kicks and came back and hit his first game winner on a walk off. So, thought he finished it well and we’ll move on to next week with it.”

Entering Sunday’s game, Moody had only one miss on the season – a 55-yard try late in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. Last season he missed multiple kicks in a game only once, and that came in a Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns where one of his misses was a game-winning try.

The 49ers’ willingness to put Moody back out for another field goal try was a sign of the faith they have in their 2023 third-round pick. Ideally the 49ers offense will start converting more drives into touchdowns, but they’ll continue relying on Moody until they do.

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What did Christian McCaffrey do, how much did he play in return for 49ers?

Christian McCaffrey looked good in his return for the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers got a little closer to complete Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when running back Christian McCaffrey returned to the lineup.

It wasn’t a perfect day for the 49ers’ offense, but McCaffrey looked mostly like himself and had an immediate impact for San Francisco.

McCaffrey played 89 percent of the offensive snaps according to CBS Sports’ Dave Richard. He churned out 39 rushing yards on 13 carries, and hauled in six of his seven targets for 68 yards.

The 49ers’ offensive line struggled some against Tampa Bay’s defensive line and led to a handful of carries where McCaffrey didn’t have much room.

Despite the lack of rushing production, McCaffrey’s presence in the passing game made life easier for quarterback Brock Purdy, who made a handful of checkdown throws to McCaffrey instead of taking off running or forcing a throw into a tight window down the field.

He was also on the receiving end of a huge completion in the fourth quarter. With the 49ers trailing 17-13, McCaffrey was matched up one-on-one in coverage and had a step on his defender. Purdy was under pressure and had to throw early. He lofted a pass into the area ahead of McCaffrey, allowing the RB to race underneath it for a 30-yard completion.

That was the kind of play the 49ers weren’t able to run with Jordan Mason or Isaac Guerendo. And even if they ran it, Purdy likely wouldn’t have had the trust with one of them to air out a throw the way he did.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan after the game told reporters McCaffrey also made it through the game without any issues.

“He came out great, which was huge,” Shanahan said. “We knew it was going to be hard to load manage him, I think everyone says in the media, I just say not play him as much. We did that in the first half, we did a couple series and stuff, in the second half it got away from us a little bit. We only had one drive in that whole third quarter – didn’t have as many possessions and we weren’t taking him out on the fourth, and he didn’t need to be taken out, talking to him, he felt great. Going to be pumped to have him back next week.”

San Francisco isn’t out of the woods just because McCaffrey returned. They still struggled in the red zone, which was an area the reigning Offensive Player of the Year figured to help. He wasn’t much of a factor there, and Guerendo even got in for a couple of red zone snaps.

That’s something the 49ers and McCaffrey will need to iron out. For now they benefitted from his return enough to earn a win in Tampa Bay. They may need more down the stretch if they’re going to make a playoff run this season.

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49ers explain what happened in sideline scuffle during Week 10 victory

Here’s what Jake Moody, Taybor Pepper and Deebo Samuel had to say after their scuffle during Sunday’s game:

Tempers flared on the San Francisco 49ers’ sideline during the team’s 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

After kicker Jake Moody missed his third kick, wide receiver Deebo Samuel had some words for the 49ers’ second-year kicker. Long snapper Taybor Pepper wasn’t happy with whatever Samuel had to say, and got in the receiver’s face. Samuel responded by striking Pepper in the throat.

There was more yelling between the two players, but no further physical escalation.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t appear bothered by the incident in his press conference after the 49ers’ victory.

“I don’t have much of a take because I didn’t see any of it,” Shanahan said. “So I just got told about it – but probably an obvious one, guys frustrated and something probably happened and you know brothers scuffle a little bit. I didn’t see any of it, so I don’t know how bad it was, but something I’m not too worried about, we’ll fix it. If it hasn’t been fixed already, we’ll fix it on the plane and go back to loving each other tomorrow.”

Samuel had similar sentiments after the game, which the 49ers won thanks to a 44-yard walk-off field goal by Moody.

“Nothing, to be honest with you,” Samuel said. “Just frustrated in the heat of battle. It was a close game and I kinda got out of character a little bit. But I’ll talk to Moody and we’ll get past it.”

Samuel and Pepper both acknowledged Samuel wasn’t saying anything out of line to Moody, and Pepper said his only goal was to stand up for his kicker.

“Just a high-emotion game,” Pepper said. “Football’s high-emotion, and Jake was having a little rough patch there. I was just standing up for Jake, because there was still time on the clock. The game wasn’t over and everybody knows what happened at the end.

“It’s not over until the clock says zero. They all count three when it’s a field goal. And I always got four’s (Moody’s) back.”

Ultimately there weren’t any adverse affects for Moody. He made the 44-yard game-winner as time expired and helped the 49ers get home with a win. He said he’s not concerned about the incident.

“Like I said, it’s in the heat of the moment – it happens,” Moody said. “I do have to make those kicks at the end of the day, so that’s all I’m focused on. I’m not worried on anything like that.”

It’s understandable if some frustrations were mounting. The weather was in the high 80s at kickoff in Tampa Bay and the 49ers were in the midst of a potential collapse in an extremely important game. The team has also had a slew of frustrating losses in 2024, and this one was on the verge of being another.

Chances are this specific incident won’t linger. The larger problem for the 49ers will be avoiding more instances where players have reason for frustration on the sideline.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. San Francisco 49ers, live stream, TV channel, time, how to stream NFL live

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will make the trip out west in Week 14 of NFL action to face the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.

The Bucs are coming off another Tom Brady comeback game and have won three of their last four games while leading the division. Meanwhile, the 49ers have won their last five games and will be without Jimmy G after he suffered a broken ankle last game and Brock Purdy will get the start.

This will be a great Sunday of NFL football, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the game today.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. San Francisco 49ers

When: Sunday, December 11
Time: 4:25 p.m. ET
TV Channel: FOX
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

How to watch the NFL this season

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NFL Football Odds and Betting Lines

NFL odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Sunday at 11:10 a.m. ET.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. San Francisco 49ers (-3.5)

Over/Under: 38

See more at Sportsbookwire.com

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