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BY IRA KAUFMAN
Yes, he did it again.
With the Bucs clinging to a 20-19 lead late in the third quarter, Baker Mayfield faced a third-and-14 from his own 41. The 49ers had just kicked a field goal and figured they had momentum on their side.
Tampa Bay had No. 6 on its side. Advantage, Bucs.
San Francisco pressured Mayfield out of the pocket and 15 yards later, he left four 49ers sprawled in his wake. First down, Tampa Bay. Two snaps later, Mayfield found Tez Johnson streaking down the middle for a 45-yard TD that shattered the hopes of the gritty visitors.
The 49ers are 4-2 for a reason.
They play hard for Kyle Shanahan. Like Todd Bowles, Shanahan is dealing with a flurry of key injuries and that list expanded when star linebacker Fred Warner was carted off with a potential season-ending ankle injury.
The Bucs have new health concerns of their own after Emeka Egbuka, the leading candidate for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, hurt his hamstring. He joined Mike Evans and Chris Godwin on the sidelines on a day Cade Otton and Kameron Johnson combined for nine receptions on 10 targets.
The Buc pass defense surrendered 347 yards to Mac Jones but atoned with six sacks and two interceptions. As expected, Christian McCaffrey touched the ball 24 times on San Francisco’s 67 offensive snaps, but Tampa Bay’s rush defense continued its stellar play as McCaffrey averaged only 3.2 yards per carry.
Jamel Dean led the defensive charge with a pick, a sack and a forced fumble while Kindle Vidor — filling in for Zyon McCollum — set an early tone by intercepting Jones’ initial throw of the day.
With road matchups against the Lions and Saints dead ahead, there’s a good chance the Bucs will be at least 6-2 heading into a bye week that should give a battered roster time to regroup for the stretch run.
Kendrick Bourne shook loose for 142 yards on his five receptions, including catches of 56 and 41 yards. Bowles attributed the long gains to defenders losing their footing. Tampa Bay needs to clean up those lapses because the Lions boast a big-play offense.
Despite 17 more snaps than Tampa Bay, the 49ers owned a scant 363-352 edge in total offense. Nine penalties and two giveaways didn’t help their cause as the 49ers suffered their first road setback after a 3-0 start away from home.
The last Buc team to open 5-1 was the 2021 club that finished 13-4 with Tom Brady. Before that, you had to go back to 2005 with Brian Griese and Chris Simms under cente.r This team is led by Mayfield, who has thrown 12 TD passes and only one pick.
“He’s playing incredible football,” 49ers GM John Lynch told me after the game. This MVP talk isn’t contrived … it’s real.”
Here’s how the Bucs beat San Francisco 30-19 without the need of a last-minute comeback:
* The Bowles skeptics won’t want to hear this, but Tampa Bay has now won 20 of its last 29 regular-season games.
* On Vildor’s interception, Haason Reddick came roaring in untouched from the left edge and pressured Jones into an errant throw.
* For the season, Tampa Bay opponents are averaging only 88 rushing yards per game. With Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in the backfield, the Lions will surely test those numbers as the Bucs hit the road four times in a five-game span.
* Mayfield started slowly, throwing behind Egbuka twice and completing only 3-of-7 passes for 21 yards in the opening quarter. He went 14-for-16 the rest of the way and owns a glittering 108.5 passer rating on the season.
* Chase McLaughlin, who had rebounded strongly after early-season struggles, was wide right on a 49-yard FG try midway through the fourth quarter. He responded seven minutes later with a 45-yarder that provided the final cushion.
* Rachaad White, who scored twice at Seattle last week, accounted for 86 yards from scrimmage and a 2-yard TD run Sunday. He’s done a nice job while Bucky Irving recovers from foot and shoulder injuries.
* Johnson’s 45-yard reception was his only catch of the day, but it was a beauty as he hauled in Mayfield’s pass with a fingertip grab. He’s averaging 18.7 yards on six catches for the season.
* Bowles dialed up the pressure on Jones and the Buc defense responded in kind. He was dropped six times and hit on 10 occasions. In sharp contrast, Mayfield was afforded outstanding protection, hit only once.
* Entering the game, Kameron Johnson had made his mark strictly as a return specialist. All that changed as he caught all four passes Mayfield sent his way, including a 34-yard TD grab late in the opening half. A roughing-the-passer flag on the play prompted Bowles to order a 2-point try from the 1-yard line, but White was stopped off left end.
* The 49ers hadn’t allowed a first-quarter point through five weeks before Vildor’s interception set up White’s short scoring run.five minutes into the game. San Francisco briefly went ahead 10-7 on McCaffrey’s 1-yard plunge, but that was the only TD allowed by the Bucs, still tied for the best record in the league.