49ers demolish Tom Brady and the Buccaneers 35-7

San Francisco – The 49ers continue to face a tough road with injuries this season, Deebo Samuel was carted off the field after sustaining an ankle injury today. Samuel a key component to the offense will be out for some time but that didn’t stop Brock Purdy from having a great NFL start at quarterback. 

The 49ers 35-7 blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed this team is still fighting despite multiple injuries to their team. They lost Kevin Givens to a calf strain, Samuel to an ankle injury, Donte Johnson to a knee injury and Samuel Womack had a concussion. Yet Purdy went 16-for-21 for 185 yards with two touchdowns, including him scrambling for a 2-yard touchdown. 

“Injuries from the game,” said 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. “[DL] Kevin Givens left with a knee, never returned. [WR] Deebo Samuel left with an ankle, same thing. [CB] Dontae Johnson left with a knee, same thing. [CB Samuel] Womack [III] was evaluated for a head injury, he’s in the [concussion] protocol. [DL] Kerry Hyder [Jr.] had an ankle, didn’t return. [CB] Ambry Thomas had an ankle and [QB] Brock Purdy had an oblique.

We’re not sure, most likely (regarding if Samuel had a high ankle sprain). They just said nothing was broken, so that was the best news.” 

Purdy was too quick for the Bucs defense, they looked lost trying to take him down. Purdy was not sacked the entire game except for one attempt on opening drive when Keanu Neal sacked Purdy but was called for roughing the passer, a 15 yard penalty was assessed. Purdy then led his offense down filed for 5 plays and 67 yards before Samuel rushed into the end zone for the 13-yard touchdown. 

“I think he did an awesome job,” Shanahan said. “He did a great job in the pocket, had one mistake there, he was fortunate that we got that one back. He didn’t hesitate. I think he threw a touchdown the next play, which was really cool, but it’s really impressive how he played and I thought it was similar to the week before.” 

Purdy recorded his first touchdown in his first career NFL start. The rushing touchdown also marked the first of his career. Purdy is the first rookie in the Super Bowl era with at least 2 touchdown passes, 1 rushing touchdown and a passer rating of 125-or-higher in his first career start. Purdy’s 134.0 passer rating is the 6th highest by an NFL QB in their first career start since at least 1970, while his 76.2 completion percentage is the 8th highest by an NFL QB in their first career start since at least 1970. 

“I just wanted to keep putting up points on the board however many times as we could knowing this dude’s made all these comeback crazy comebacks in his career,” said Purdy. “So, I didn’t want that to happen in my first game as a starter. So, the whole time I’m like doing my thing and stuff, not looking at the scoreboard knowing the situations and stuff, but also respecting who’s on the other side, didn’t want to give him a chance at the end.” 

It was a great start for the 49ers, especially against a phenomenal quarterback like Tom Brady. But today wasn’t Brady’s day, he was sacked twice by Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead. He threw two interceptions and failed to get his offense into the red zone. And the one attempt for a 55 yard field goal by Ryan Succop was thwarted because he kicked the ball short of the field goal. And to make matters worse, Brady had a touchdown overturned.

Brady’s 68-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans was nullified after an offensive holding call on Donovan Smith in the first quarter. Tampa was also charged with a 10 yard penalty and forced to punt the ball away. Neal had two big penalties that proved costly, first was the penalty on opening drive, then he was called for a defensive pass interference for 7 yards to put San Francisco on the goal line before the first period ended. 

“Well, I think penalties, turnovers, third down red area, it all adds up,” Brady said. “There’s field position, there’s kicking game, there’s what you do on first down. There’s so many different little stats and things, and probably not a lot of things we have a lot of advantages on. We’re just going to try to get back to work this week and play a good team at home and see if we do a lot better job.” 

By the second quarter Purdy scored, then he went deep to Christian McCaffrey for a 27-yard touchdown to make it a 21-0 game. And with 15 seconds left in the half Purdy found Brandon Aiyuk for a 32-yard touchdown to extend their lead 28-0. McCaffrey had another complete game by scoring twice with a touchdown pass from Purdy and a 38-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter. 

McCaffrey registered 14 carries for 119 yds. The rushing touchdown marked his 5th of the season and the 35th of his career, while the rec. touchdown was his 4th of the season and the 20th of his career. With 1 rushing TD and 1 rec. TD, it marked the 11th game of his career with 1-or-more rushing TD and 1-or-more rec. TD, which is the most in the NFL in that time frame (2017-22). With 119 rushing yds., McCaffrey rushed for 100-or-more yds. for the 3rd time this season and the 13th time in his career.  

Late in the third, Brady connected with Russell Gage for an 8-yard touchdown to avoid a shutout. 

The 49ers have won 8 of their last 9 home games against the Buccaneers. San Francisco improved to 2-1 against Tampa and 7-5 against the NFC South under head coach Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers have won 6-consecutive games for the first time since 2019 [Weeks 3-9 (Week 4 BYE)]. San Francisco is 6-1 or better through its first 7 home games for the first time since 2011. Plus the 49ers offense finished the game with 36 carries for a season-high 209 yds. (5.8 average) and 3 TDs. San Francisco went over 200-rushing yds. for the 6th time under head coach Kyle Shanahan (2017-22), as the team is 6-0 in those contests.  

“I can’t even explain it,” said Tashaun Gipson Sr. on picking off Brady. “Everybody grew up watching Tom Brady. Obviously, he’s the GOAT. To add that to the collection, like I was telling Huff [49ers S Talanoa Hufanga], that’s the one guy I haven’t got. I got some GOATS. I’ve been around a long time. I’ve played against him many times, so today was special, especially with the victory. It’s a real humbling experience. And I’m just blessed.” 

Photo by 49ers/Twitter

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The 49ers host Tom Brady and the Buccaneers today with Brock Purdy making his first career start as the 49ers quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo is out and other inactives today include, Ty Davis-Price, Tarvarius Moore, Curtis Robinson, Nick Zakeji, Ross Dwelley and Hassan Ridgeway.

49ers take the field pregame.

Malaika Bobino

Malaika Bobino, an Oakland, California native, is a Bay Area sports journalism powerhouse and influencer. With nearly two decades of experience at both the Oakland Post and the Huffington Post, she is always on the front lines of the iconic Bay Area sports scene. Bobino covered the Oakland A’s postseason trips, all three of the San Francisco Giants World Series, was present for all three Golden State Warriors three NBA Championships and covered the 49ers last two Super Bowl appearances

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