NFL

San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

· National Football League
5-4, 2-2 Away
Final
23 - 20
4-6, 2-4 Home

Moody shrugs off 3 missed FGs to kick 49ers past Buccaneers 23-20 in McCaffrey's season debut

Moody wins it for 49ers with 44-yard FG

The usually reliable San Francisco kicker made up for missing three earlier field goals by booting a 44-yarder as time expired Sunday to give the 49ers a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in running back Christian McCaffrey's season debut.

“I really, really wanted a chance to redeem myself," said Moody, who in his first game back after being sidelined three weeks with a sprained ankle, also kicked field goals of 28 and 33 yards for the defending NFC champion 49ers (5-4), who have won consecutive games for the first time this season.

“I felt really confident, really good going that direction. It was the same exact spot as the previous one,” Moody said. “I saw what happened with the previous one and was able to make an adjustment.”

Moody, who was 13 of 14 entering Sunday, delivered the winner after missing wide left from 49 and 50 yards and then wide right on a 44-yard attempt that would have given San Francisco a six-point lead with 3:09 remaining.

TV cameras caught 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel exchanging words and appearing to shove long snapper Taybor Pepper when the frustrated wide receiver approached Moody on the sideline after the third miss.

Moody shrugged off the sideline incident involving Samuel. who had five catches for 62 yards.

“It's an emotional game. Stuff like that happens all the time," Moody said, adding he’s not looking for an apology from Samuel. "You just move past it. We won, so that's all that matters.

“Like I said, heat of the moment, it happens. I do have to make those kicks at the end of the day. That's all I'm focused on.”

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said he didn’t see what happened.

“Guys are frustrated, something probably happened ... brothers scuffle a little bit. I didn’t see any of it, so I don’t know how bad it was," Shanahan said. "It’s 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 (Monday).”

McCaffrey returned to practice last Monday after being sidelined since early September due to Achilles tendinitis. He carried for 5 yards on the first play and game and finished with 39 yards rushing on 13 attempts. The 2023 AP Offensive Player of the Year also had six receptions for 68 yards.

Baker Mayfield led a drive to set up a tying field goal for Tampa Bay (4-6) with help from three straight personal foul penalties — setting the stage for Moody to win it for the 49ers. Mayfield finished 18 of 29 passing for 116 yards and one TD for the Bucs, who have lost four in a row.

It was the second straight week Tampa Bay lost on the final play of the game. They forced overtime at Kansas City the previous game, then lost 36-30 when Patrick Mahomes led the Super Bowl champion Chiefs to a touchdown on the first possession of OT.

“We have to finish ballgames,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “There's nothing wrong with how hard we're playing and how tough we're playing, but we have to finish games. ... We're making too many mistakes at the end.”

Brock Purdy threw for 353 yards without an interception, and had touchdowns of 46 yards to rookie Ricky Pearsall — the wide receiver's first NFL score — and 11 yards to George Kittle. He moved his team into position for the winning field goal with two completions to Jauan Jennings and two more to Pearsall.

Pearsall sat out the first six games after being shot in the chest after an autograph session in downtown San Francisco on Aug. 31. On his touchdown, he caught a pass over the middle from Purdy, accelerated toward the left sideline where he outran the pursuit until safety Antoine Winfield Jr. closed in and nearly brought him down as the receiver extended the ball over the goal line.

The Bucs wiped out a 10-0 deficit with help from 49ers punt returner Jacob Cowing, whose third-quarter muff was recovered at San Francisco's 21 to set up Tampa Bay's first TD. Four plays later, Mayfield threw a 9-yard scoring pass to Rachaad White that made it 10-10.

Rookie Bucky Irving scored on 12-yard run that put Tampa Bay ahead 17-13 early in the fourth quarter. Purdy answered with his TD throw to Kittle to put the 49ers back in front with just over seven minutes left.

“They are a good team that’s lost some games, some close ones, and it was a day before their bye week, so we knew we were going to get their best shot,” Shanahan said. “We had some opportunities to run away with it. We didn’t. That was on us.”

Injuries 49ers: DE Nick Bosa played after being listed as questionable after hurting his hip in practice.

Buccaneers: LT Tristan Wirfs limped off with a right knee injury in the second quarter and did not return. CB Zyon McCollum (hamstring) and LB Chris Braswell (oblique) departed in the second half.

Up next 49ers: Host NFC West rival Seattle next Sunday.

Buccaneers: Bye week.

How can I watch 49ers vs. Buccaneers?

  • TV Channel: 49ers at Buccaneers 2021-22 NFL, week 10 is broadcasted nationally on FOX and NFL Sunday Ticket.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
    In Canada, viewers can watch 49ers vs. Buccaneers on DAZN.

Matchup Prediction

Buccaneers: 46.3%
49ers: 53.3%
*According to ESPN's Football Power Index

Scoring Summary

SF TD 1st Period 4:15 Ricky Pearsall 46 Yd pass from Brock Purdy (Jake Moody Kick)
SF FG 2nd Period 8:53 Jake Moody 28 Yd Field Goal
TB FG 2nd Period 1:14 Chase McLaughlin 30 Yd Field Goal
TB TD 3rd Period 11:58 Rachaad White 9 Yd pass from Baker Mayfield (Chase McLaughlin Kick)
SF FG 3rd Period 4:21 Jake Moody 33 Yd Field Goal
TB TD 4th Period 14:18 Bucky Irving 12 Yd Run (Chase McLaughlin Kick)
SF TD 4th Period 7:02 George Kittle 11 Yd pass from Brock Purdy (Jake Moody Kick)
TB FG 4th Period 0:41 Chase McLaughlin 26 Yd Field Goal
SF FG 4th Period 0:00 Jake Moody 44 Yd Field Goal

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/sf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originSF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nfl/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
24 1st Downs 18
17 Passing 1st downs 8
3 Rushing 1st downs 6
4 1st downs from penalties 4
5-11 3rd down efficiency 5-14
0-0 4th down efficiency 1-1
61 Total Plays 58
413 Total Yards 215
6.8 Yards per Play 3.7
10 Total Drives 10
338 Passing 105
25/36 Comp/Att 18/29
8.7 Yards per pass 3.4
0 Interceptions thrown 0
3-15 Sacks-Yards Lost 2-11
75 Rushing 110
22 Rushing Attempts 27
3.4 Yards per rush 4.1
1-3 Red Zone (Made-Att) 2-4
6-49 Penalties 5-42
1 Turnovers 0
1 Fumbles lost 0
0 Interceptions thrown 0
0 Defensive / Special Teams TDs 0
31:48 Possession 28:12

Game Information

Raymond James Stadium

Location: Tampa, FL
Attendance: 64,914 · Capacity:

2024 NFC West Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Los Angeles 9 6 .600 0 329 347
Seattle 8 7 .533 0 339 340
Arizona 7 8 .467 0 344 342
San Francisco 6 9 .400 0 331 349

2024 NFC South Standings

TEAM W L PCT T PF PA
Atlanta 8 7 .533 0 327 349
Tampa Bay 8 7 .533 0 427 352
New Orleans 5 10 .333 0 309 346
Carolina 4 11 .267 0 283 448
Full Standings

NFL News

Steelers' Russell Wilson scores on 1-yard run

Steelers' Russell Wilson scores on 1-yard run

After being picked off in the end zone, the Steelers quarterback redeemed himself with a 1-yard touchdown run that cut the Chiefs' lead to 13-7.

Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes throws 2 TD passes early

Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes throws 2 TD passes early

Xavier Worthy's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the first TD resulted in a longer PAT try, which Harrison Butker missed.

Seahawks look to boost fading playoff hopes against struggling Bears

Seahawks look to boost fading playoff hopes against struggling Bears

Seattle (8-7) at Chicago (4-11)

2024 NFL Christmas games: Picks, schedule, predictions, odds

2024 NFL Christmas games: Picks, schedule, predictions, odds

We have top storylines, bold predictions, game-plan keys and fantasy X factors for the Christmas games and Week 17's Thursday night matchup.

NFL Week 17 uniforms: Texans rock H-Town blue for Christmas

NFL Week 17 uniforms: Texans rock H-Town blue for Christmas

The Christmas week is bringing out notable uniforms on the field during NFL's Week 17.