The good, bad and ugly from Buccaneers' win over 49ers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to find ways to win, even with a roster decimated by injuries. Playing without offensive starters Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Bucky Irving and Luke Goedeke (as well as starting cornerback Zyon McCollum), the Bucs improved to 5-1 in another shorthanded victory over the San Francisco 49ers, 30-19.

The Buccaneers are now 2-1 in one of the toughest parts of their schedule, with wins over the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, and their lone loss of the year coming to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bucs end their murderers' row of difficult opponents with the Detroit Lions next week on Monday Night Football. 

The grit the Bucs have shown over the first six weeks of the season will only help them later on in the year when they’ll get reinforcements coming back from injury. They won’t have their entire offense or defense that they envisioned coming into the season with, but will have a majority of their units available at some point, barring further injury. 

Tampa Bay had several players step up in their victory over the San Francsicso 49ers, but there will continue to be things to work on as they gear up for a trip to Detroit. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly in the Buccaneers' win over the 49ers.

Good 

QB Baker Mayfield

I don’t know how he does it, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Mayfield took a little bit to heat up and but when he got going, there was no slowing him down.

He hit Kam Johnson for a 34-yard touchdown with under a minute left in the first half to give the Bucs a seven-point lead. Then, in the third quarter, he started baking. He started with a huge 15-yard scramble that set the Bucs up with a first down on 3rd & 14, and then he hit rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson for a 45-yard score to extend the lead. Mayfield led the Bucs to two more scoring chances in the fourth quarter and ended the day completing 17 of 23 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, and he did it without his top four wide receivers after a hamstring injury knocked Emeka Egbuka out of the game in the third quarter.

Mayfield further strengthened his MVP case after Sunday's win over the 49ers. 

CB Kindle Vildor

Vildor intercepted Mac Jones on the 49ers’ first possession of the game. On 3rd & 4, the veteran corner jumped the route and ran the ball back for 13 yards to set the Bucs up at the 12-yard line with excellent field position. Two plays later, Rachaad White plunged ahead for the go-ahead score to put the Bucs up 7-0. Vildor had a big pass breakup in the fourth quarter when the 49ers were trying to move the ball down the field. 

Bucs Pass Rush

The Bucs' pass rush came alive on Sunday with six sacks of 49ers quarterback Mac Jones.

Elijah Roberts notched the first, and his first full sack of his career. The 10-yard loss pushed the 49ers from a fourth-and-short situation at the 24 to a fourth-and-long and made them settle for a field goal. Yaya Diaby notched his second sack of the season on the very next drive. And while he didn’t nab one himself, Vita Vea provided the initial pressure on Roberts and Diaby’s sacks in the first quarter and was a menace in the middle all game long for the 49ers.

With a little over halfway to go in the fourth quarter, the Bucs got to Jones again. This time, C.J. Brewer and Haason Reddick brought the heat to bring him down for a seven-yard loss. Lavonte David and Jamel Dean both notched sacks as well, and with under two minutes to play in the game, Diaby got to Jones again for his second of the day. 

Bucs' Backup Skill Players

The scoring opened with Rachaad White running in the game's first points on a short field after the Vildor interception. In the second quarter, Sean Tucker ran in the nine-yard score with just over five minutes left in the first half to retake the lead for the Bucs. The duo finished with 90 yards on the ground for Tampa Bay and two touchdowns. Not to be outshone, the Bucs' backup receivers made their mark felt as well. 

Kam Johnson reeled in a 34-yard touchdown catch, and Tez Johnson scored his first career touchdown on an incredible leaping touchdown catch from Mayfield for 45 yards in the waning minutes of the third quarter to increase the Bucs' lead. Sterling Shepard made several clutch plays as he often does and ended the game with 51 yards receiving.

CB Jamel Dean 

Don’t make a scene, it’s just Jamel Dean. Coming back from injury, Dean had himself a game on Sunday. In addition to a strip sack to end the first quarter, the Bucs' veteran cornerback made a critical interception in the fourth quarter with just under six minutes left in the game when the 49ers were moving the ball down the field and were knocking on the door of the red zone. 

Bad

K Chase McLaughlin 

McLaughlin had the chance to give the Bucs a two-score lead in the fourth quarter, but missed a 49-yard field goal attempt wide right to keep the 49ers still in it, just eight points behind the Bucs. McLaughlin struggled early in the season, and while he rebounded at the end of the game by nailing a 45-yarder to put the game away, he needs to be more consistent. 

Pass Defense

The Bucs' pass defense stepped up when they needed to and had two interceptions in the game, but they still allowed 346 passing yards to an injured Mac Jones and a depleted 49ers receiving corps. The Bucs were missing one of their best cornerbacks with Zyon McCollum sidelined, but have always been a bend but don’t break defense to an extent.

They were able to mitigate the damage with those picks this week, but against a team like the Detroit Lions, who are next on the schedule, they will need to be much better. 

Ugly 

Injuries

This seems like a weekly issue for the Buccaneers.

Emeka Egbuka and Luke Haggard were the latest casualties this week. Egbuka left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury and didn’t return to the game. Egbuka has been everything the Bucs have hoped for and more, and the team can’t afford to lose him for an extended period.

Haggard left the game with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter and didn't return. He has filled in at right guard since Cody Mauch went down with a season-ending injury. After a rough outing in his first game, he's settled in nicely over the last two contests.