The Tampa Bay Buccaneers head west to face the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon. Tampa Bay has won three of four after taking down the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, but the 49ers are even hotter, riding in on a five-game winning streak that includes a win over Miami last week despite the loss of Jimmy Garoppolo (foot). Brock Purdy will get the start on Sunday after leading the 49ers to victory last week. The Bucs’ defense held the fort until Tom Brady could get the passing game up and running for another game-winning drive. Can they do the same against San Francisco? Don’t miss our NFL betting preview for this matchup between NFC division leaders.
NFL Preview: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at San Francisco 49ers
(Sunday, December 11)
When: Sunday, December 11, 2022, 4:25 pm ET
Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
TV: FOX
Radio: WIP 94.1 FM Philadelphia / WFAN 660 AM New York City
Live Stream: Sling TV
NFL Odds: Tampa Bay +3.5 / O/U 37 // Tampa Bay +158 / San Francisco -190
Why should you bet on the Buccaneers?
Tom Brady got things done when it mattered against San Francisco, going 36 of 54 for 284 yards, two scores and an interception. His touchdown passes went to Rachaad White and Cade Otton. The running game only accounted for 76 yards, as White and Leonard Fournette had limited production. The defense was solid, as Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara only had 53 combined yards on 19 carries.
Tampa Bay needs to get more out of their running game if they want to beat the 49ers. White and Fournette exploded for 162 combined yards against Seattle, but this will be more of a challenge, as the 49ers only permit 75.6 running yards per game, tops in the league. They also need to get after Brock Purdy, and the Buccaneers do have a solid pass rush. We saw them punish Andy Dalton repeatedly last week, and they are fourth in the league in sacks.
Why should you put your money on the 49ers?
You might wonder why the 49ers are favored with a backup quarterback, but Brock Purdy played fairly well against Miami last week, going 25 of 37 for 210 yards, two scores and an interception. One of those scoring passes went to Christian McCaffrey, who had 146 total yards on 25 touches. Also, the San Francisco defense stood tall against Miami, snagging three interceptions and limiting the running game to just 33 yards.
The 49ers only allow 4.8 yards per play. They are stingy when it comes to giving up points (15.8) or yards on passing attempts (6.9). They do get after the passer as well. Given the fact that Tampa Bay had a hard time getting on the board against New Orleans, it’s hard to be optimistic about them scoring at will against San Francisco. The 49ers have only permitted 11.4 points per game during their five-game winning streak, so the Bucs do have a big hill to climb.
Final Score and Prediction
Tampa Bay has a 6-6 record overall, but they are just 2-5-1 against the spread in games against non-NFC South opponents. Their division includes three rebuilding teams (Atlanta, New Orleans and Carolina), so it’s hard to take them all that seriously against a defense as good as what San Francisco will bring. I see another grinder of a game, similar to what we saw on Monday night, but Tampa Bay will end up on the wrong end this time. I predict a final score of San Francisco 16, Tampa Bay 9.
NFL Betting Odds
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