Christian McCaffrey is back and everything went exactly to plan. No hiccups. Right?... Right???
Not quite. The 49ers almost threw away a would-be easy win with a combination of disastrous special teams, underwhelming defensive line play, conservatism and downright absurdity. But they held on by the skin of their teeth and a 44-yard Jake Moody field goal for an ugly 23-20 win in Tampa.
Christian McCaffrey's return
As it turns out, McCaffrey's return did not singlehandedly fix the 49ers' offense. It did help, though. And there were no training wheels on. He was back to bell cow status.
Jordan Mason had one carry. Isaac Guerendo had one carry.
And McCaffrey was magnificent. His wheel route down the right sideline may have won the 49ers the game. He was outstanding. The main takeaway here? He looks like himself.
Nick Bosa comes up clutch after poor game, then un-redeems self
The 49ers' defensive line group was woefully unimpactful in this game. Nick Bosa was objectively poor for most of the game.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Bosa had zero pressures, per Fox's broadcast. That was with seven snaps against Tristan Wirfs and eight against... former 49er Justin Skule.
Bosa looked like he had come up with a clutch, potentially game-icing sack against Skule. And then he finished the game with egg on his face.
On a 4th-and-7, Baker Mayfield scrambled, and Bosa looked like he had him. But instead of tugging Mayfield's shirt, or really any part of his body, Bosa held onto Mayfield's left arm and looked like he was gassed and jogging. Mayfield should be given credit for an absurd play.
The defense proceeded to collapse with three monumental penalties. There was a facemask penalty on Fred Warner, an erroneous roughing the passer on Maliek Collins for a facemask (which should have been called separately on Leonard Floyd) and an illegal use of hands to the face on Evan Anderson.
Anderson got a massive run stop, and the defense prevented a touchdown, but the 49ers couldn't stop a game-tying field goal.
Special teams woes and conservatism
Much of this game was defined by special teams. Jake Moody missed two field goals from 49 and 50 yards and Darrell Luter Jr.'s poor jammer play — he got run straight into Jacob Cowing's lap — resulted in a Cowing muffed punt that became a game-tying touchdown for the Buccaneers.
But so much of the outsized impact of special teams was a result of Kyle Shanahan's maddening conservatism. At the end of the first half, the 49ers, with three timeouts, declined two opportunities to save some clock and push for the red zone.
The preference was clearly to set up a field goal. And for those wondering about Shanahan's desire to "lap" the other team with a score to end the half and to start it, the Buccaneers received the ball in the second half.
After Moody's 49-yard miss, Shanahan opted to kick a field goal again on a 4th-and-5 at the Tampa 35. This time they were down four, and Moody missed from 50. It's just incredibly rare for the 49ers to push the issue.
All that said, the 49ers did get one key play on special teams. Cowing made amends in the fourth quarter with a key, 30-yard return from the San Francisco 6-yard line to set up the resurgent touchdown drive.
But don't worry, Moody had more in the tank. After retaking the lead, the 49ers opted to try and go up six, to turn a one-possession game into a one-possession game. This time, Moody missed from 44... and it led to a sideline fracas between Deebo Samuel and long snapper Taybor Pepper.
And in poetic fashion, it came down to Moody again, this time from 44. To win it, he squeaked it through the uprights. Never a doubt, right?