San Francisco came off its bye week and had a big road victory against Tampa and now stand at 5-4 on the season. San Francisco is one game behind the division-leading Arizona Cardinals but with a half season to go and many of their injured players back, the 49ers seem primed to make a run at the NFC Championship again. Brock Purdy had 353 passing yards and two touchdowns, including a touchdown to tight end George Kittle and rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall. Purdy also showed some very good mobility by rushing for 17 yards on four carries. This is one of his best games this season, and his play bodes well for San Francisco in its fight for the division.
CMC Returns
In his first game back of the season number one fantasy overall pick Christian McCaffrey had 39 yards as well as 6 receptions for 68 yards. McCaffrey ranked second on the team with a 19% target share, showing that he is fully back from his injury; many football fans were wondering whether or not McCaffrey would have played a full load of snaps, and in fact, he did play pretty much all of them. Jordan Mason, the backup who had played so well the previous weeks, only had one carry for five yards.
Deebo Samuel
Wide Receiver Deebo Samuel has not had the breakthrough game yet this year. It was obvious that the coaching staff tried to get him more involved on offense but Jauan Jennings is playing at a very high level and rookie Ricky Pearsall is beginning to emerge as well. Samuel has his boom weeks but he is very inconsistent and can be frustrating especially in fantasy leagues.
Bucs Injuries
Tampa moves to 4-6 on the season after losing another close game against one of the better teams in the league. The problem this season has not been Tampa’s offense, it’s clearly been their defense and its inability to stop other teams from passing the ball. Even without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin due to injuries, the offense has put the Bucs in a position to win. To make matters worse the Buccaneers have likely lost star offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs for a few weeks with an MCL injury.
Baker Mayfield
Tampa quarterback Baker Mayfield struggled, only throwing for 116 yards and one touchdown. The good news is that the running back situation is starting to become a little clearer. Rookie Bucky Irving played very well, rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown and catching 3 passes. Rachad White had 6 receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown, as well as 31 yards rushing. Irving out-snapped White as a runner 13-10. White led in receiving targets by 7-3. White has been used as more of a short yardage back, giving him a slight advantage on the whole.