49ers escape Tampa Bay with a 23-20 win in a game that had no business being close

The San Francisco 49ers received the ball to begin the game. They got off to a hot start, but Brock Purdy missed Ricky Pearsall, which led to punting in Tampa Bay's territory.

The defense felt the loss of Charvarius Ward on the first third down of the game, as Cade Otton beat Isaac Yiadom for a first down. The Buccaneers didn't have the same success on the ensuing third down. Not many teams do when they target Fred Warner.

The signs were there from the offense on the first drive. They did not disappoint on the second drive. McCaffrey made a player miss to convert a critical 2nd & 5 and avoid a third down. Brock Purdy found Ricky Pearsall for 46 yards and Pearsall's first career score. It was an impressive anticipation throw from Brock, and Pearsall turned the jets on to race in the end zone.

Ricky Pearsall reached 19.47 mph on that 46-yard TD, per Next Gen Stats. That's the fastest time by a 49ers ball-carrier since Deebo Samuel in Week 6.

Maliek Collins had a sack on the second drive. The defense was equally impressive as the offense to start, outside of the third down conversion. The 49ers have banked on their opponents failing to convert on third downs, and Tampa Bay was one for their first three.

During the broadcast, Tom Brady called Jauan Jennings the best third-down option for the offense. That's probably coming from the coaching staff during pre-production meetings. Jennings converted back-to-back third downs right after Brady said that.

The 49ers red zone issues resurfaced. After a run for one yard, two incomplete passes forced a 28-yard field goal from Jake Moody. His kick was good to make it 10-0. Still, a first-down run and no passes to McCaffrey were surprising.

The Buccaneers put together a 13-play, 58-yard play drive that took over seven minutes off the clock. Baker Mayfield was never going down without a fight. Tampa Bay converted a pair of third downs before De'Vondre Campbell made a tackle for loss.

However, there was an egregious clock mismanagement. Kyle Shanahan could have called a timeout at 1:48. Instead, the Buccaneers ran the clock down to 1:14 before kicking a field goal to trim the lead to 10-3.

Jennings caught a 30-yard pass on first down, which put the offense inside Buccaneers territory. Purdy was off-target on the next two throws, making it 3rd &10. A Pearsall reception put the offense in Moody's range. Moody's kick was wide from 49 yards.

Mayfield had 25 seconds left and three timeouts from the 39-yard line to make something happen. Tristan Wirfs was out, which meant old friend Justin Skule would be the left tackle for the rest of the game.

Cade Otton dropped a critical pass, which helped the defense get off the field, and that took us to halftime. San Francisco outgained Tampa Bay by nearly 100 yards in the first half.

The defense forced a three-and-out to begin the half, but Jacob Cowing muffed a punt after Darrell Luter ran into him. Tampa Bay scored in four plays, and just like that, the game was tied at 10.

The 49ers offense had a 13-play, 55-yard drive that took over five minutes. McCaffrey had a third-down reception in the red zone. This came after Debo Samuel moved the chains on 3rd & 5. But a second down sack ended the drive, and the Niners had to settle for another field goal to make it 13-10.

The defense gave up a couple of first downs to the Buccaneers, and that continued on the first play in the fourth quarter, which was on 3rd & 2. Bucky Irving scored a 12-yard touchdown run to give the Bucs a 17-13 lead. It was a brutal series for Nick Bosa, who missed multiple tackles on the drive.

George Kittle had one reception entering the fourth quarter. He caught a pass on the Niners' next drive. Kittle broke a tackle, outran the defense, and raced 33 yards to flip the field. But Jennings came up short on third down, which meant another Moody attempt. Moody's kick from 50 yards was also wide left.

Deommodore Lenoir was in coverage on third down, which got the defense off the field after an exhausting drive the previous time out.

Jennings caught a pass for 11 yards. Then Purdy threw his best pass of the game. He lofted a ball out to McCaffrey, giving it enough air for McCaffrey to judge the flight of the ball. Purdy then scrambled for seemingly seven seconds and found Kittle in the end zone to provide the 49ers with a 20-17 lead.

George Kittle is indescribably good.

The defense needed to get a stop. Tampa Bay helped them out by fumbling a snap. Then, Nick Bosa sacked Mayfield. But after a Deebo 32-yard pass, Moody missed another kick. That was nine points the special teams left off the scoreboard.

Tampa Bay had an opportunity to tie the game with a field goal. On 4th & 7, Bosa had Mayfield wrapped up, but Baker made one of the most impressive throws you'll see a quarterback make to keep the drive alive.

Fred Warner had a facemask on 3rd & 7 to extend the drive. Maliek Collins had a roughing the passer call, and Evan Anderson had an illegal use of hands. After what felt like an impossible situation, Tampa Bay found themselves with a 2nd and & goal from the five-yard line.

Evan Anderson had a huge tackle for loss, and Tampa Bay kicked a field goal to tie the game at 20.

The offense had 41 seconds and one timeout. Pearsall and Jennings did the heavy lifting. Jennings, alertly, cut back inside to allow Moody to redeem himself from 44 yards out. The kick was good, and San Francisco escaped with a 23-20 win.