It’s GAME DAY at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux – Come watch Bucs football all season long!

BUCCANEERS at 49ERS

WHEN: Sunday, December 11, 2022 | WHERE: Levi’s Stadium | KICKOFF: 4:25 p.m. ET | TV: FOX

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Kevin Burkhardt |ANALYST: Greg Olsen | SIDELINE: Erin Andrews

RADIO: 98 ROCK 97.9 FM | PLAY-BY-PLAY: Gene Deckerhoff | ANALYST: Dave Moore | SIDELINE: T.J. Rives

Game day is approaching, and it’s time for the Pewter Report staff to make its weekly game predictions and offer up our game preview of this week’s matchup. Let us know what you think in the article comments section and add your prediction, too.

Scott Reynolds: Brady Wills The Bucs To Another Improbable Win

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch

The Bucs are going to beat the 49ers in San Francisco for one reason – Tom Brady. This is Brady’s return to his home state where he’ll face the team he grows up rooting for. Brady led the Bucs to a 17-16 come-from-behind win over the Saints on Monday Night Football. He’ll have to be the leader of the Bucs’ win over the 49ers and probably play his best game of the season, and do so against the best defense in the league. Ironically, Brady is 7-0 in his career against teams that have the No. 1 scoring defense and No. 1 total defense in Week 5 or later – including the playoffs. The big question will be whether or not the Bucs can score more than 17 points this week?

Tampa Bay’s defense will need to rise to the occasion. While the 49ers have a great defense, the Bucs have a good defense. What’s separating the two is the fact that the Bucs struggle to get takeaways, and Tampa Bay is only average at stopping the run this year. The Bucs will have to come up with multiple takeaways against rookie quarterback Brock Purdy in order to win. Putting pressure on Purdy with early blitzes will certainly help. Linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White need to get involved in the Bucs’ pass rush, and Carl Nassib will need another big sack or two.

Somehow, some way, the Bucs put up 23 points in San Francisco. Brady wills the offense to the win, and the defense chips in with some rare takeaways. Tampa Bay returns home with a 7-6 record and a 7-4 record in the NFC. A win against the 49ers could also go a long way in NFC postseason seedings – provided the Bucs win the NFC South and get the automatic home playoff game that comes with it.

REYNOLDS’ GAME PREDICTION: Bucs 20, 49ers 19
REYNOLDS’ SEASON RECORD: 4-8

Matt Matera: This Defensive Struggle Doesn’t Go In The Bucs’ Favor

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch

If the Bucs’ offense had trouble scoring points against the Saints, they’re going to have an even worse time on the West Coast facing the 49ers. In two out of their last three wins, the Bucs have used the sequence of scoring early, hoping the defense keeps them in the game long enough while the offense struggles and then frantically going no-huddle to score late and barely win. It makes for a thrilling crescendo, but it also isn’t a formula to win consistently. 

This doesn’t sound like the week where Tampa Bay’s offense reaches its potential with their full arsenal of receivers playing for the second week in a row. San Francisco has the best defense in the league in yards per game and rushing yards per game. Tampa Bay can’t run it anyway, so there wasn’t much expectations to begin with. The Bucs can’t expect to continuously drive 80 yards down the field, so Tom Brady will have to take some calculated shots in his homecoming return. He just missed Mike Evans and Julio Jones last game, maybe he hits them for those chunk plays on Sunday.

It isn’t fair to them but it’s going to be on the Bucs defense again to keep them in the game. This is a much tougher task with the 49ers’ offensive weapons, but to even things out they get to face rookie quarterback Brock Purdy. There’s two schools of thoughts facing a team like this. You can hope your four-man pass rush can get home, allowing you to double team the likes of Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, or you can continuously blitz to put pressure on the rookie quarterback and make him uncomfortable. The risk there is Purdy eventually can get used to the blitz and dump off a quick pass to Kittle or Christian McCaffrey, but I think it’s the risk you have to take. The Bucs need to win the field position battle and create a turnover to win, I’m just not sure they’re able to accomplish it this weekend.

MATERA’S GAME PREDICTION: 49ers 17, Bucs 10
MATERA’S SEASON RECORD: 4-8

JC Allen: Last-Minute Field Goal Propel Bucs To Unlikely Win

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Coming off the high of a last-second win against the Saints, the Bucs are hoping to ride the wave when they take on the 49ers in San Francisco. In a battle of two of the leagues top defenses, this should not be a game where a lot of scoring is expected. The Bucs and 49ers have allowed two of the top five lowest point totals in the league. With Tampa Bay’s struggling offense and a rookie quarterback at the helm for San Fran I don’t expect an explosion of points. Add in the rain and is should be a low scoring affair.

One area I think the Bucs could have some success is the quick passing game and setting up intermediate routes. The 49ers have some good players in the secondary but Tom Brady should be able to exploit some of those matchups. Getting Cade Otton going should be a priority as well as the rookie tight end has made some of the biggest catches of the season in the biggest moments of his young career. The 49ers run defense is the best in the league, giving up just over 75 yards per game. This is not the game to try to establish a running game. Spread it out and make the secondary cover your skill players while utilizing the backs as pass catchers.

Defensively, you have to think the Bucs are licking their chops going against rookie quarterback in Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy. Head coach Todd Bowles is sure to have some exotic looks dialed up to bait him into mistakes. Turnovers will be key and the Bucs are going to have to steal some possessions if they are going to win this game. Though they need to stay disciplined as the 49ers are chock-full of skill players that excel getting yards after the catch. Brady wants to win this one bad, with the defenses help, I think he manages to keep the team in it down to the wire where Ryan Succop seals it with a last-minute field goal.

ALLEN’S GAME PREDICTION:  Bucs 13, 49ers 10
ALLEN’S SEASON RECORD: 4-8

Bailey Adams: Bucs Can’t Put It All Together As Roller Coaster Continues

Bucs TE Cade Otton – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs, crazily enough, have won three out of their last four games. It hasn’t all been pretty – in fact, none of it has been – but Todd Bowles’ team is back to .500. At 6-6, Tampa Bay heads west to take on the NFC West-leading 49ers, who sit at 8-4. Given how up-and-down the Bucs have been and how consistent the ‘Niners have been as of late, this matchup shouldn’t favor Bowles and Co. However, it’s more even than it might seem. San Francisco is on its third quarterback, 2022 Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy, because of injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. And the team has looked vulnerable from time to time this year.

The problem is, the 49ers are still an outstanding team. Purdy may be making his first career start, but he’s leading an offense that features Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and now Christian McCaffrey. That’s quite the group, and as much as Tampa Bay’s defense has been able to keep the team in games this season, it’ll be a tall task trying to stop Kyle Shanahan’s offense on Sunday. And on the flip side, the Bucs’ struggling offense is going up against the league’s No. 1 scoring defense.  That’s not exactly a recipe for win No. 7 on the season.

The 49ers aren’t a juggernaut, having given up 28 points to Atlanta and 44 to Kansas City in October. Their four losses are to Chicago, Denver, Atlanta and Kansas City, too. But it’s hard to imagine the Bucs putting everything together on offense against this defense. Tampa Bay’s offense has scored 21 points just four times all year and Byron Leftwich’s latest press conference damaged my confidence in that unit even more. As much as I want to believe the Bucs defense will get after San Francisco’s rookie quarterback and as much as I’d like to think Tom Brady and this talented offense can light up the scoreboard against the NFL’s top scoring defense, I just don’t see it.

ADAMS’ GAME PREDICTION: 49ers 24, Bucs 13
ADAMS’ SEASON RECORD: 6-6

Josh Queipo: Bucs Get Out-coached In West Coast Loss

Bucs HC Todd Bowles – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

San Fransisco is in a pretty tough spot. Having lost both their starting quarterback in Trey Lance and now his backup in Jimmy Garappolo, they now turn to a seventh-round rookie in Brock Purdy. Most teams faced with this predicament would be in no-man’s land. But this isn’t most teams. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has been here before. He has coaxed respectable quarterback performances out of the likes of Nick Mullens and C.J. Beathard in the past.

That’s not to say the 49ers offense will be dominant on Sunday. But it should be functional. Especially since it sports a list of playmakers as long as my arm. Shanahan will look at his personnel, decipher what they can and can’t do well and lean into the former and away from the latter. It is what makes him one of the best coaches in the league. Unfortunately, that can’t be said of the collection of decision-makers that will be standing across the field from him.

I, as many others, have lost complete faith in the Bucs coaching staff to take advantage of strengths on offense to their benefit. Nor do I believe that they can squeeze out extra win probability from smart situational decisions like when to go for it on fourth down. While the quarterback situation in San Fransisco makes the 49ers vulnerable, I don’t think the Bucs will be able to take advantage. Despite the defense holding another opponent to under 20 points the Bucs lose in a score reversal from Week 12.

QUEIPO’S GAME PREDICTION: 49ers 17, Bucs 16
QUEIPO’S SEASON RECORD: 7-5

Kasey Hudson: Bucs Fall Short Out West

You read Brock Purdy on the roster and hope that that would be an advantage for the Bucs, yet I wouldn’t count out Mr. irrelevant. The Bucs defense is going to have to play four quarters of football and clean up their coverages. While there were some big plays versus the Saints the secondary looked bad and this Niners team will make them pay. Carl Nassib had a solid game last week, but this pass rush needs to take the next step, we are still feeling the absence of Shaq Barrett, and San Francisco will unleash Christian McCaffrey when they sniff out that weakness.

“Two-minute Tom” has been exciting to watch this season, but what this offense pulls of in two minutes they need to figure out how to start in the first quarter. The defense won’t be able to carry the offense versus San Francisco. The Niners’ pass rush is one of the best in the league and it’s going to be a sight to watch them go against this Bucs offensive line. With that said, I’m not quite sure how much of a successful run game the Bucs will find.

After watching the Dolphins put up 295 passing yards on the Niners, I would hope to see Brady and his receivers connect way more. We barely saw Mike Evans vs. the Saints and the deep passes to Julio Jones were a waste. I still believe the Bucs have one of the most talented rosters, but now it’s time to use them wisely. (P.S. No more deep throws to Jones, please.)

HUDSON’S GAME PREDICTION: 49ers 21, Bucs 17
HUDSON’S SEASON RECORD: 6-6