Buccaneers Fall in Power Rankings After Loss to San Francisco 49ers

The Tampa Bay Bucs have fallen to the San Francisco 49ers. Where did national media outlets rank them in their power rankings?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are back in the losing column after a 27-14 loss against the San Francisco 49ers. After improving in the power rankings last week, the Buccaneers take a small dip in the power rankings this week. Here are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers power rankings headed into Week 12.

NFL.com

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-1)

After a good showing against the Titans, Tampa Bay's defense had a humbling outing on Sunday. The unit was picked apart by Brock Purdy, spared a bit by the 49ers going 2-for-4 in the red zone and 4-for-10 on third downs. But the Buccaneers allowed 400-plus yards for the fourth time in five games and didn’t force a turnover for only the second time all season. The secondary was roasted for seven completions of 15 or more yards, including a 76-yard TD and catches of 40 and 37. Jamel Dean was injured on the long touchdown, one of three starting Bucs defenders to be hurt in the game, along with CB Carlton Davis III and LB Lavonte David. QB Baker Mayfield hung tough, but he turned the ball over twice deep in San Francisco territory. Tampa Bay is still in the NFC South race, but lost ground with the setback and two divisional foes on bye.

Star Linebacker Shaquille Leonard Could Become Realistic Option for Buccaneers

ESPN

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)

Sports Illustrated

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I wonder, especially with all of the quarterback turmoil happening around the Buccaneers, if this isn’t still the best team in the division. While it’s a small window of time, Baker Mayfield was chucking dimes on Tampa Bay’s first scoring drive just before the half at a time when the game was still in question. It’s not nearly enough to make a difference against a near-perfect football team. But it’s something.

Bleacher Report 

22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2)

The second tale has not been so happy—since the bye, the Buccaneers have one victory in six games after falling by 13 in San Francisco Sunday. Still, despite the team's ongoing struggles, quarterback Baker Mayfield continues to insist that the Bucs can turn things around if they tighten things up a bit."It's a loss, first and foremost," Mayfield said to reporters. "The thing I look at is—I've consistently said that in some of these games, later in the game, we've continued to fight, and that's never changed. We have a team that's still willing to fight from this point forward. It's still about playing our best game, putting it all together, especially when you're playing competition like that. If you don't do that, if you give them more opportunities, they're going to take advantage. That's just the way this league works."

For all their recent struggles, the Bucs are still just a game back of the New Orleans Saints with a head-to-head win in the bank. But Tampa needs to start peeling off wins—or that Week 4 victory in the Superdome isn't going to matter.

Buccaneers' Defense Allows 49ers' Quarterback Brock Purdy to Make NFL History

NBC Sports

23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-1)

Time is running out.

USA Today 

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+0)

WR Mike Evans needs 220 more receiving yards to give him at least 1,000 in all 10 of his NFL seasons. Never been done before.

CBS Sports

23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+0)

They haven't played well over the course of the past month, but they are far from out of it in their division.

In Week 12, the Bucs will be traveling to Indianapolis to try to secure another win.

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