Limiting 49ers Skill Players Presents Challenge For Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers face an uphill battle when they fly to San Francisco to take on the 49ers on Sunday. The 49ers are in the top ten in most of the common statistical per-game categories in the NFL. Third in points scored, fourth in total yards, sixth in rushing, and sixth in time of possession. The only category they fall out of the top ten is in receiving yards per game game where they rank 11th.
The offense they run with Kyle Shanahan at the helm and the dynamic playmakers they have on the offensive side of the ball creates all sorts of problems for opposing teams.
When it comes to stopping the 49ers, limiting their ability to create after they catch the ball will be key for the Buccaneers this week. As a team, they have 1,049 yards after the catch with McCaffrey leading the way with 314 yards after the catch. His 314 YAC yards are the third-best in the league behind only Rachaad White's 370 and Alvin Kamara's 320 yards after the catch.
“They’ve got a lot more weapons and they’ve got a lot more YAC-yard guys than we’ve faced recently,” Bowles said. “All of them can do a lot of things. Obviously, [George] Kittle is in there, as well. We’ve just got to be able to tackle. We’ve got to be where we need to be at the right time and we’ve got to gang tackle.”
Where McCaffrey also excels is his yards after contact. He leads the league in that category. In fact, 512 of his 748 rushing yards have come after contact. Samuel has 70 yards himself after contact on his 124-yard rushing. Tackling will be a key component and will need to be a team effort if the Bucs are going to limit this potent 49ers offense.
“Tackling,” Bowles said. “The YAC-yards – him and Deebo [Samuel] break so many tackles, it’s unbelievable. You have to gang-tackle them. If you can’t, you’ve got to be able to get him down and limit yards per catch and limit him in the run game if you can. He does so many things well, it’s hard to just contain him. You just try to slow him down if you can.”
Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis echos Bowles when it comes to making sure they are getting bodies on ball carriers.
“We’ve got to run and hit,” Davis said. “We’ve got to hit. We’ve got to own the line of scrimmage [and] stop the run, for sure – make them one-dimensional. We’ve got to limit the big plays – no big plays over top. [We have to] stop the run and create turnovers.”
It's going to take a full team effort if the Bucs are going to upset the 49ers on Sunday. If they want to stand a chance they will need to make sure they play with proper technique and angles when it comes to tackling one of the league's most dynamic collection of weapons.
You can follow JC Allen on Twitter @JCAllenNFL.
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