San Francisco 49ers Take The Victory In Tampa Bay 33-14

Dec 15, 2013; Tampa, FL, USA;San Francisco 49ers running back Kendall Hunter (32) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave the San Francisco 49ers a huge scare today. In the end, however, some blunders may have cost them the victory, the Niners have won five straight. They continue to attack the standings and now move to 10-4 on the season. It was some good play all around in a physical game, but the Niners pulled out the victory 33-14

In the first quarter of this game, the Niners only scored one time, but after one it was a 7-0 lead.  It was Michael Crabtree’s first touchdown this season after coming off the Achilles Injury. Tamba Bay’s offensive game appeared flat and wasn’t going anywhere, and the Niners appeared to already be in the clear. Their defense played phenomenally.

In the second quarter, it was more of the same, for the first 10 minutes. Colin Kaepernick built on one of his better games this season with a 52-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis to make it a 17-0 ballgame. Phil Dawson had drilled a 43-yard field goal prior to this. Everything was going well till the Bucs finally got on the board. Matt Glennon threw 11 yards to Vincent Jackson with 35 seconds left in the half for a touchdown, giving his team some much needed momentum.

The Niners’ offense died a little bit in the third quarter, only scoring one field goal thanks to their brilliant kicker, Dawson. Their defense, however, began to crumble as well. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, the Bucs had a very successful drive were the Niners’ cornerbacks didn’t seem to be doing much at all. Eventually the 92-yard drive was capped off by a 24-yard touchdown pass in the first 6 seconds of the third quarter to Tim Wright.

The Niners were in some trouble now, as the game was 20-14, a single possession game. They seemed to be in a mess when it was 3rd down and more than 10. (Crabtree had received a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct). Kaepernick was under pressure, and running from two defensive linemen, when he found Crabtree for a huge gain and the eventual third down. This was the second biggest play of the game.

After advancing up the field, the Niners found themselves at third and goal, but failed to score a touchdown, once again bringing up the issue of scoring within the 10-yard line. They set up for a field goal, which Dawson, unsurprisingly drilled. The Niners now led 23-14.

The biggest play of the game happened on the Bucs’ kick return. Eric Page fumbled the ball at the 2-yard line after it was tossed to him and Kendall Hunter picked it up and dove into the end zone for the touchdown, giving the Niners some breathing room and the eventual victory. They led the game 30-14 at this point. To add insult to injury, Dawson drilled another 35 yard field goal, Eric Reid intercepted the ball with a 1:53 left in the ballgame.

Frank Gore rushed for 86 yards, and reached the 1,000-yard mark for the seventh time in his nine-season career. Kaepernick threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns, while Glennon threw for 179 yards with a touchdown and one interception. Bobby Rainey rushed for just 27 for Tampa Bay. Vernon Davis had 79 receiving yards and Timothy Wright had 82.