For the second season in a row, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will cross the country to play the San Francisco 49ers in Carolina. They're determined to make this year's trip better than the one they made last December.
"Tough game," said wide receiver Mike Evans, who had 143 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Buccaneers' Week 10 win over the Tennessee Titans. "Last year we went to San Francisco and it wasn't pretty, so we're looking to avenge that and play some of our best ball, because we're going to need it against a team like San Francisco."
The Buccaneers' trip to the other Bay area a year ago coincided with the first career start for Brock Purdy, a rookie who had been chosen with the last pick of the 2022 draft. Purdy began growing his legend with a sharp outing, completing 16 of 21 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 35-7 runaway win for the home team.
This time, the Bucs-49ers tilt will feature two teams that just snapped losing streaks with dominant wins in Week 10. While the Buccaneers took care of the Tennessee Titans, 20-6, the 49ers won on the road at Jacksonville, 34-3. Both teams started the season fast before a multi-game slide, and are hoping they can now get back to their winning ways. The Bucs took a 3-1 record into their bye week but then lost four in a row. The 49ers won their first five and then lost three straight before their bye week. They apparently addressed their problems well during the bye because they came out if it with a 437-yard explosing on offense and a five-sack day on defense against the Jaguars.
Tampa Bay's defense will face a tough test against Christian McCaffrey, Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. McCaffrey, who scored twice in last year's Bucs-49ers matchup, had 143 yards from scrimmage in Jacksonville, while Kittle caught a 66-yard touchdown pass during a 116-yard day. The 49ers' defense, which added former second-overall pick Chase Young at the trade deadline, has a ferocious front that also features Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Javon Kinlaw and Arik Armstead. Bosa and Hargrave, perhaps the league's best inside-outside duo, each had 1.5 sacks of the Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence.
Both teams are in tight division races. The 6-3 49ers took a half-game lead in the NFC West with their win over the Jaguars, though Seattle could tie them again with a late-afternoon home win against the Washington Commanders. The Buccaneers improved to 4-5 with their win over Tennessee and are just a half-game back of the 5-5 New Orleans Saints, who lost to Minnesota. The Atlanta Falcons lost to Arizona on Sunday to fall to 4-6.
