Having won three of their last four games – all in ugly fashion – the Bucs headed west for a bigger test on Sunday afternoon, facing the NFC West-leading 49ers. As it turned out, Tampa Bay flunked that bigger test, getting dominated from the jump in a 35-7 loss to San Francisco.

The Bucs looked to get the game off to a good start, with Keanu Neal flying in to sack rookie quarterback Brock Purdy – delivering a big hit in the process. But instead of an eight-yard loss, a roughing the passer call gave San Francisco a first down. And Purdy led an easy touchdown drive from there, with Deebo Samuel eventually capping off the five-play, 67-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to give the 49ers an early 7-0 lead.

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay offense picked up a few first downs on their first drive, but they ultimately settled for a 55-yard field goal attempt from Ryan Succop. What would’ve been the veteran kicker’s career long wasn’t to be, as his attempt went way off the mark. The 49ers, though, failed to take advantage of the strong field position afforded to them by the missed kick.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs finally hit on a big play to seemingly tie the game on their next possession, with Mike Evans getting wide open for a 68-yard touchdown only for the score to be negated by a holding penalty on Donovan Smith. Two plays later, Jake Camarda came on for a punt.

On their next possession, the 49ers rolled over the Buccaneer defense yet again. A 15-yard pass to George Kittle and two 13-yard runs by Christian McCaffrey set San Francisco up in the red zone before Purdy eventually ran for a two-yard touchdown – badly juking Devin White in the process – to put the home team up 14-0 one play into the second quarter.

The ineptitude continued on the offensive side of the ball with another three and out on the next drive, giving the ball back to Purdy and San Francisco with a chance to build on their lead. And that’s exactly what they did, driving 71 yards in nine plays before finishing off the drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Purdy to McCaffrey. Halfway through the second quarter, it was a 21-0 lead for the 49ers.

Tampa Bay’s offense showed little reason for hope in response, going three-and-out for the third straight time. But the defense tried to give the Bucs a lifeline, with Anthony Nelson forcing a Samuel fumble that was recovered by Lavonte David. It led to a tough scene, though, as Samuel had to be carted off with a knee injury.

After a third-down conversion to get the drive going, Brady hit Chris Godwin for a 32-yard gain to get inside the red zone for the first time on the day. But after going backward on 2nd & 1, the Bucs missed on third and fourth down from the 9-yard line. The key turnover forced by the defense turned into nothing.

49ers QB Brock Purdy – Photo by: USA Today

And yet again, San Francisco moved the ball on Tampa Bay with ease as the first half drew to a close. Purdy led the 49ers from their own 9 all the way down to the Bucs’ 37. It looked like Tampa Bay then had another takeaway, with Nelson intercepting Purdy, but a questionable holding call on Carlton Davis negated it. One play later, Purdy hit Brandon Aiyuk for a 32-yard touchdown to put San Francisco up 28-0 before halftime.

Deven Thompkins opened the second half with a 54-yard kickoff return, but it didn’t matter. After hitting his hand on a helmet on second down, Brady overthrew Evans for an interception on third down. And two plays later, McCaffrey ran 38 yards up the middle to make it 35-0 early in the third quarter.

The Bucs went down the field with quick gain after quick gain on their next drive, but the possession ended in another Brady interception, this one by Dre Greenlaw. It didn’t turn into any points for San Francisco, but whatever chance Tampa Bay had at making the score look respectable took a hit.

The Bucs did finally find the end zone at the 2:48 mark in the third quarter, though, with a Brady pass going off Godwin’s hands an into Russell Gage’s for an eight-yard touchdown. That made it 35-7 after a 13-play, 74-yard drive.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

San Francisco essentially coasted the rest of the way and while Tampa Bay began to move the ball, there was nothing the offense could do other than make the score appear closer than it really was. But Todd Bowles’ team even failed at that, failing to score again and sputtering its way to a 35-7 defeat.

Brady, in his long-awaited homecoming to the Bay Area, finished the day 34-of-55 for 253 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Rachaad White ran for 50 yards on 13 carries and caught five passes for 21 yards, but had a late fumble. It was Godwin leading all receivers with five catches for 54 yards. The Tampa Bay offense finished 4-of-16 on third downs and 4-of-7 on fourth.

Anthony Nelson was the only Buccaneer defender to write home about as the unit allowed 35 points and 404 yards. Purdy, the last pick of the 2022 Draft, diced them up for 185 yards on 16-0f-21 passing and scored three total touchdowns. McCaffrey was the big producer for the 49ers (9-4), running for 119 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. He also had two catches for 34 yards and another touchdown.

The Bucs are now 6-7, but they still lead the NFC South by a game. They’ll return home in Week 15 to host the Bengals (9-4) next Sunday, with kickoff set for 4:25 p.m.