Buccaneers Fall Short Against 49ers, Drop to 4-6 Before Bye Week

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a Week 10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Nov 10, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (7) runs with the ball San Francisco 49ers during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered a matchup against the San Francisco 49ers with both teams needing a positive result on their season. The 49ers came away victorious in the final seconds of the game, dropping Tampa Bay's record to 4-6 on the season.

Both teams started slow in the first quarter, with both offenses punting on their opening possessions. The 49ers capitalized on their second offense drive, however, when wide receiver Ricky Pearsall caught a 46-yard TD that saw him beat Antoine Winfield Jr. to the line after a wide-open grab from the middle of the field. That put San Francisco up 7-0 with 4:15 left to play in the first quarter, and Tampa Bay wasn't able to score points in their subsequent possession. When the first quarter ended, the 49ers were driving down the field in their own territory.

The 49ers led a long, extended drive to kick off the second half that saw them get to the 10-yard line after a slew of third-down conversions given up by the Bucs defense, but they were forced to kick to make it 10-0 San Francisco with 8:53 left in the half.

The Bucs marched down the field to the nine-yard line and couldn't get the touchdown, settling for the field goal to make it 10-3, but the more important event on that drive was a knee injury to star Bucs tackle Tristan Wirfs. Wirfs went to the locker room with the injury, and if it is serious, Tampa Bay will be in big trouble going forward. The 49ers missed a field goal at the end of the half and the Niners held the 10-3 lead after the first half.

Tampa Bay opened up the third quarter with a bang, marching down to the nine-yard line and then throwing a screen pass to Rachaad White to even it up 10-10 in Tampa Bay. The 49ers responded with a long drive but once again couldn't get the touchdown, settling for three and going up 13-10.

The Buccaneers, however, responded in kind at the start of the fourth quarter, driving to the red zone and handing the ball to Bucky Irving to punch it in and make it 17-13 for the first Buccaneers lead of the day. 49ers kicker Jake Moody missed yet another field goal, leaving three points off the board, but the Bucs couldn't capitalize and punted it back to San Francisco. The 49ers took advantage quick, driving down the field in six plays and then hitting George Kittle for the score in the back of the end zone to go up 20-17.

The 49ers missed yet another field goal — Moody's third miss of the day — to give the Bucs a chance to tie or win the game down three 20-17 with two minutes left to play. The Bucs' drive was marked by three different penalties by the 49ers, two of which on Baker Mayfield went for 15 yards, and it caused the Bucs to get inside the 10-yard line with less than a minute to go, but Tampa Bay couldn't get it in the end zone. Chase McLaughlin's kick was good, so it was 20-20 with 41 seconds to play.

Unfortunately the 49ers made it happen. They easily drove down the field and Jake Moody hit the only kick that mattered to make it 23-20 and a 49ers victory. The Bucs fall to 4-6 on the year and will have to win quite a few games after the bye week to stay in playoff contention.

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