Another week and a new set of injuries for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers look to leave them shorthanded when the 4-1 San Francisco 49ers come to town on Sunday.
San Francisco has had the Bucs’ number in recent years. In fact, when these two teams met over the last three seasons, they’ve lost each game. Last year came down to the wire with Baker Mayfield’s infamous stiff arm to Nick Bosa as he completed a fourth-down pass, which was one of the best highlights of the season.
However, the Bucs aren’t looking for highlights. They’re looking for a win. If they follow these keys to cannon fire, they should get just that and improve to 5-1 on the season.
Points will likely be hard to come by against a 49ers defense that has been excellent at limiting opponents’ opportunities to put points on the board. Their defense ranks sixth in the NFL, allowing just 19.6 points per game. The Bucs have yet to score a first-drive touchdown this season and need to set the tone early if they’re going to pull out the win.
The 49ers’ red zone defense is one of the best in the league, ranked eighth, and they have been excellent on third down, ranked fifth. Surprisingly, those are two areas where the Bucs have struggled this season after being one of the most efficient teams in the league last year.
With Tampa Bay dealing with numerous injuries on both sides of the ball, getting off to a quick start, scoring points on the board and then playing sound defense will be one of the keys to winning this game.
Both of these offenses are decimated with injuries right now. As mentioned above, points will likely be hard to come by for both of these teams. However, the 49ers are slightly healthier on defense than the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay is missing multiple secondary players heading into this game, and even the ones that are playing are a bit banged up.
With all the injuries, Tampa Bay needs to get out to a lead and then establish a ground game to keep the clock moving and the time of possession on their side.
While San Francisco is dealing with a ton of injuries on the offensive side of the ball themselves, they have probably one of the most explosive, versatile playmakers in the league. Keeping Christian McCaffrey on the sideline and wearing down the 49ers’ defense via the ground game should help propel the Bucs to a victory.
The winner of this game will likely come down to who makes the fewest mistakes and who wins the turnover battle. That hasn’t been a strong suit for the Bucs this year. They have just four turnovers on the season, but they’ve only given away the ball twice.
It’s not like the 49ers have set the league on fire with how many turnovers they have. They have just five created turnovers this season, but they’ve given the ball to other teams eight times with five interceptions and three lost fumbles.
Baker Mayfield has been smart with the ball this season and will need to continue that against an aggressive 49ers defense that will be flying to the ball. If the Bucs want to win this game, playing clean, smart football will be a major key.
