Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Buccaneers vs. 49ers: Week 7 Grades and Analysis for San Francisco

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The San Francisco 49ers dropped their sixth game of the season after falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-17. Niner Noise recaps this Week 7 disaster and assigns plenty of lowly grades to the Niners’ effort.

Oct 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Shepard (89) scores a touchdown against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Rashard Robinson (33) during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Where have you heard this script before — the San Francisco 49ers have a decent leading heading towards halftime, only to give it up around halftime and watch the second half completely disintegrate.

Well, it happened again in Week 7. The 49ers dropped their sixth straight game in a row after falling 34-17. And this was after the Niners opened up with a 14-0 lead.

Almost sounds like San Francisco’s Week 4 contest against the Dallas Cowboys, doesn’t it.

No disrespect, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren’t quite on the same level as the Cowboys. And yet the storyline was all too much the same. The 49ers looked as if this game would be different. Only things completely fell apart down the stretch.

At least the Niners will have their Week 8 bye to regroup and rethink what’s going on in Santa Clara. Whatever the current approach is, it’s not working.

And these subsequent Week 7 grades between the 49ers and Bucs will reinforce that.

Take a look, if you want. But we don’t blame you if you’d rather not.

October 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Shepard (89) scores a touchdown against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Rashard Robinson (33) during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive Grades

Guess what, the 49ers run defense still stinks. Well, most of the defense stinks. The Niners had already given up 307 yards of total offense before halftime.

So, not surprisingly, San Francisco’s defensive grades aren’t going to be very good.

Safety

Eric Reid looked solid his first week of the season. But each and every game since then seems to point to a regression.

And with Antoine Bethea no longer looking as if he’s a long-term option, one has to wonder if the 49ers have any solution here. Maybe move defensive back Jimmie Ward to safety? Who knows.

Grade: D+

Cornerback

Rashard Robinson was tasked with matching up with 6-foot-5 Bucs wideout Mike Evans. And Evans won the battle, with two touchdowns on eight receptions before an apparent ankle injury forced Robinson’s early exit from the game.

Robinson ended up having to leave on a cart, which isn’t a good sign for San Francisco.

#49ers CB Rashard Robinson leaves the game on a cart. #49ersBeastWriter #SpotSakamoto #NinerEmpire #ForeverFaithful pic.twitter.com/r6xnJHe60v

— Ryan Sakamoto (@SakamotoRyan) October 23, 2016

Tramaine Brock, whose job may also be in danger, rebounded nicely from his efforts in Week 6. And yet San Francisco’s secondary still looks oh-so weak.

Linebacker

By this point, we all know the 49ers don’t have a run defense. And San Francisco allowed its sixth 100-yard running back, Jacquizz Rodgers, in as many weeks.

The Niners have zero options to plug the point of attack in nickel packages and even in base formations. And the pass rush from the outside? It doesn’t exist much either. There really isn’t much of an answer.

Oct 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (3) carries the ball ahead of San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aaron Lynch (59) during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Oh, at least linebacker Gerald Hodges had an interception early in the game. At least that’s a bright spot.

Grade: D-

Defensive Line

Like much of the 49ers’ efforts this season, San Francisco’s defensive line looked strong towards the start and only faltered as the game moved on.

Arik Armstead recorded his third sack of the season but ended up coming out of the game with a shoulder injury in the second half. And rookie DeForest Buckner showed some emotions, although not the right kind as Bucs players got under his skin over the course of the game.

San Francisco currently has one of the most permeable defensive lines in the NFL right now. And two first-round draft picks in back-to-back years have been used to supplement it.

Grade: D

Oct 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) throws the football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive Grades

Take away the 49ers’ opening two touchdowns to start the game, and the Niners offense looks like a joke.

San Francisco has just 10 points scored during the third quarter all season. And the second half of games continues to prove how bad this team has become in a very quick amount of time.

So should you expect any improvement in Week 7? No.

Aug 10, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive guard Joshua Garnett (65) warms up during the training camp at Kezar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive Line

Rookie guard Joshua Garnett had some yellow-flag problems over the course of the game, which we should expect. And it’s still an ongoing problem to watch San Francisco’s offensive line run block.

What exactly is right tackle Trent Brown doing? Some of his blocking efforts make zero sense.

Grade: D

Tight End

Vance McDonald had some drops, and where have you heard that before? It seems as if he’s got more of a rapport with fellow 49ers QB Blaine Gabbert than Colin Kaepernick.

And Garrett Celek’s fumble didn’t make things look good either.

Grade: D

Wide Receiver

San Francisco’s leading wide receiver was Quinton Patton with three catches for 13 yards. Fellow wideout Torrey Smith had one grab for 17 yards.

Although Smith was getting open, as Niners Wire’s Rob Lowder pointed out.

Colin Kaepernick missed an uncovered Torrey Smith in the end zone. #TBvsSF pic.twitter.com/iltcN9ScKH

— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) October 23, 2016

Can’t blame Smith. He’s still getting open.

Grade: F

Running Back

Second-year tailback Mike Davis looked good at first and ended up with a four-yard touchdown run to kick off the 49ers scoring. He finished with 21 yards on seven carries and was a non-factor in the second half.

Shaun Draughn and DuJuan Harris were bigger standouts. Draughn hauled in Kaepernick’s lone touchdown pass of the game, and Harris’ strong second-half runs kept Tampa Bay from blowing out the Niners.

October 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back DuJuan Harris (32) runs against Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Akeem Spence (97) during the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Grade: C+

Quarterback

Kap was 16-of-34 for just 143 yards and a touchdown against an interception. He probably could have tossed a couple more, thanks to some ill-advised throws. Still, Kaepernick doesn’t look as if he’s anything close to a long-term answer in Santa Clara.

At least he led the Niners in rushing yards — 84 to be exact.

Grade: D-

Oct 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly on the sideline against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Special Teams & Coaching

Special Teams

Hey, at least Phil Dawson managed to hit home the only field goal attempted on the afternoon — a 28 yard try in the fourth quarter.

And Phil Dawson was busy with six punts.

At least San Francisco’s kick-coverage units weren’t as bad as they were in recent weeks. For that, we should give them a little credit. Special teams looked about as good as they could have during this contest.

Grade: B

October 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the 49ers 33-21. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Coaching

It almost seems as if the 49ers are prepared to have a game plan for the first two or three offensive possessions of the game.

And that’s it, both offensively and defensively.

San Francisco’s strong start, the one in which head coach Chip Kelly’s squad got off to a 14-0 lead, quickly gave way to a resurgent Buccaneers team against which Jim O’Neil’s defense had zero answers.

O’Neil’s defense still doesn’t make much sense. Go watch linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Nick Bellore in coverage, and you’ll see. Oh, and the Niners run defense won’t improve any from it’s last-place NFL ranking after giving up 249 rush yards and 513 all-purpose yards total.

Grade: F

Oct 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Shaun Draughn (24) celebrates ahead of wide receiver Jeremy Kerley (17) after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Cumulative Grade

San Francisco now stands at 1-6 heading into its Week 8 bye. And it couldn’t come any sooner.

The 49ers’ embarrassment of a season will at least take a pause as the team has two weeks to prepare for another home contest, this time against the New Orleans Saints in Week 10.

New Orleans has a potent offense, which should mandate some serious changes from defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil’s defense. We’d, at least, like to believe the two weeks’ time would help.

Maybe.

This season has featured a lot of the same storylines on a week-in, week-out basis. The 49ers are capable of getting out to an early lead, or at least looking good in the first quarter-plus. This only gives way to an ugly second half, in which the Niners have no chance to stage a comeback due to a problematic run defense.