Bucs continuing to find creative ways to lose games

TAMPA, Fla. — Some losses are costly. Some are unnecessary. Some are downright heartbreaking.

This one? It was all of the above.

The 49ers tried to gift wrap a victory for the Bucs Sunday in a variety of ways, and Tampa Bay still could not take advantage. The Bucs lost their fourth game in a row when Jake Moody kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired for a 23-20 Niners victory.

“You’ve got to finish ballgames,” Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said. “Guys get a chance to play, they’ve got to come in and execute. You can’t play hard and not play smart at the end.

“Making too many mistakes at the end.”

Moody missed three field goals to keep the Bucs alive, and the 49ers defense gave Tampa Bay three automatic first downs with penalties on consecutive plays in the final two minutes with San Francisco leading 20-17. The third penalty gave the Bucs a first and goal from the 8, but they could not put the game away with a touchdown.

Instead, they settled for a game-tying field goal by Chase McLaughlin with 41 seconds remaining.

The 49ers then marched 39 yards on six plays to set up Moody’s game-winner.

Play of the day

The Bucs were up 17-13 early in the fourth quarter when Brock Purdy scrambled down the right sideline. The 49ers quarterback was knocked out of bounds and was then hit late by Calijah Kancey. Instead of a third-down situation, the unnecessary roughness penalty gave San Francisco a first down at the Bucs 11. Two plays later, Purdy hit George Kittle in the corner of the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.

Game ball

It was nowhere near Baker Mayfield’s best game stat-wise. He threw for only 116 yards on 29 attempts. But playing without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, the Bucs quarterback kept the score close and made big plays at critical moments. The most impressive was on fourth and 7 on the final drive, when Mayfield stiff-armed 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa for several seconds while scrambling sideways before launching an 8-yard completion to Rachaad White. “That’s one of the best plays I’ve ever seen a quarterback make,” former Bucs QB Tom Brady said on the Fox broadcast.

Keep an eye on

If you’re paying more attention to the injury reports than the scoreboard, your team might be in trouble.

When Tristan Wirfs left the game with a knee injury in the second quarter, the Bucs were without three of the four highest-paid players on offense. The All-Pro left tackle was engaged with Bosa while pass blocking when defensive tackle Jordan Elliott crashed into Wirfs’ right knee.

Wirfs was helped off the field and went straight to the Bucs locker room.

Strangely enough, the offense got better from that point. With Justin Skule replacing Wirfs, the Bucs shifted to more of a ground game and scored on three of their next five drives.

It caught up to Tampa Bay in the fourth quarter when Bosa beat Skule and sacked Mayfield on third down to force a punt.

NFC South update

Now accepting ideas for a gift certificate for Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi. New Orleans had lost seven in a row before firing coach Dennis Allen this week. In Rizzi’s debut, the Saints stunned the Falcons 20-17, providing the Bucs a sliver of hope in the division. Tampa Bay still trails Atlanta by two games (and the head-to-head tiebreaker), but the path is not quite as hopeless as it was a week ago.

Up next

Zzzzzzz. It’s time for a midseason nap. The Bucs have a bye week, and it comes at a critical time. The hope is that Evans will be ready to return from his hamstring injury after another week off. Tampa Bay returns to the field on Nov. 24 at the Giants, which begins a streak of three consecutive games against teams hovering around last place in their divisions.