For those who follow me, you know I was a Bucs fan before I covered them professionally. One of the things I have found out today is that when you cover them professionally, you aren’t allowed to look away or turn the television off on days like this. , Here are the most disappointing Bucs players from their 35-7 blowout loss to a rookie-led 49ers team in Week 14:

LT Donovan Smith

Smith has had easily the worst season of his career this year. And he recently admitted that it may be due in part to things he has been going through off the field. Whether it has been that or just the start of a decline, Smith has played poorly throughout the year. He committed his 10th penalty of the season in the first quarter on Sunday, negating a 68-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Mike Evans that would have tied the game at 7-7. Smith later committed a false start in the third quarter to extend that league-leading stat to 11. Smith was routinely beaten by San Francisco’s edge rushers on the day as well.

S Logan Ryan

Ryan is toward the end of his career and has lost some of the athleticism he had in New England and Tennessee. That was on display as he tried to chase some of the 49ers’ elite playmakers. Ryan had trouble keeping up with Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffery. He also blew a coverage assignment on McCaffery that turned into the 49ers’ third touchdown of the game.

QB Tom Brady

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs quarterback had a very poor game as compared to his extremely high standards. This was most evident on a 4th-&-2 pass he made to Evans, who had beaten his man in the end zone for what should’ve been an easy touchdown. At the time, it could have cut the deficit to 21-7. Brady threw the ball low and behind Evans in a place where his receiver had no opportunity to make a play on it. As much as Brady has saved this offense this year, he was no savior on Sunday.

On the first possession of the second half, Brady made two straight errant throws on second and third down. On the former, he tried to fit a tight-window throw to tight end Cam Brate, who had nary an inch of separation from all-world linebacker Fred Warner. On the following play, Brady attempted to evade pressure to make a throw to Evans, but he could not re-establish his throwing base and threw a duck up that 49ers safety Tashaun Gipson picked off and returned deep into Bucs territory.

After the Bucs went into full catch-up mode in the third quarter, Brady missed an easy touchdown by woefully underthrowing Scotty Miller, who ran by his man easily. Two plays later, Brady was picked off by linebacker Dre Greenlaw on an incredible play that further killed the 45-year-old’s stat line.

LB Devin White

White struggled to take good lines to ball carriers, which led to big gains for the 49ers’ run game. White was also juked by rookie quarterback Brock Purdy on a scramble that resulted in San Francisco’s second touchdown of the game. The linebacker later found himself out of position on McCaffery’s 38-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Bucs Run Defense

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey – Photo by: USA Today

The 49ers were able to rush for 211 yards, largely utilizing their outside zone scheme. That scheme was extremely successful because the Bucs’ edge players were constantly beaten off the snap and to the outside by San Francisco’s tackles, tight-ends and pullers. The Bucs’ linebackers and safeties failed to fill in the gaps and stop running back Christian McCaffery and wide receiver Deebo Samuel from gaining the edge before cutting up field for excellent gain after excellent gain. Bucs defensive tackles Akiem Hicks, Logan Hall and Rakeem Nunez-Roches failed to create any penetration to disrupt the flow of the rushing plan. Add in missed tackles throughout the game and it wasn’t pretty.

Bucs Pass Rush

Following the loss of nose tackle Vita Vea, the Bucs’ pass rush folded like a lawn chair at a little league game. They could not put pressure on Purdy up the middle, allowing “Mr. Irrelevant” to look like Patrick Mahomes in his first career start. Outside linebackers Anthony Nelson, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Carl Nassib also could not make the 49ers’ signal-caller feel uncomfortable, which led to him completing 16 of his 21 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

Bucs Pass Coverage

To complete the defensive trifecta of struggles, the Bucs’ cover-3 defense – with spot-dropping underneath defenders – allowed the 49ers to get open in the middle of the field almost at will. Tight end George Kittle and receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel routinely got plenty of separation from Bucs defensive backs and linebackers, which helped the offense put up 35 points on the day.

Jamel Dean, who has had an excellent season until the calendar turned to December, got beaten late in the second quarter to allow Aiyuk to score, sending the Bucs into halftime down 28-0. Dean would then leave the game with a toe injury.