10 observations, players who stood out in 49ers disappointing Week 6 loss to Buccaneers

The San Francisco 49ers couldn’t overcome injuries and a rash of mistakes in a 30-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

It was a back-and-forth battle between two teams dealing with injuries to high-profile players. They were also both clubs who found ways to win close games all year. In the end, the 49ers made too many mistakes to keep the game close late and give themselves a chance to get a victory.

Here are the takeaways from the 49ers’ Week 6 loss:

Fred Warner injury a brutal blow

San Francisco’s defense took another major hit when Warner went down with a nasty ankle injury in the second quarter. They rallied to get a stop on the series he went down. It was off the rails after that. Tampa Bay scored three consecutive touchdowns in the drives after Warner went down, then they missed a field goal and made a field goal before kneeling down once to end the game. The 49ers were scrambling without their leader in Sunday’s game, but it’s hard to envision a world where San Francisco has a viable, playoff-caliber defense without Warner and Nick Bosa who is out for the season with an ACL tear.

49ers still have no interceptions

The last time San Francisco recorded an interception in a game was Week 11 last season in a 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. It is now 13 consecutive games without an INT, which is the worst streak in NFL history according to CBS. They didn’t come particularly close against the Buccaneers on Sunday and without Warner and Bosa leading the way it’s hard to envision them snagging an interception any time soon.

49ers pass rush still toothless

Part of the reason San Francisco is having a hard time getting interceptions is because they simply cannot rush the quarterback. Sunday they managed one sack, which belonged to rookie defensive end Mykel Williams. That was also their only quarterback hit. For the season they now have 14 QB hits, three of which were from Bosa. If they can’t affect QBs in the pocket they won’t be able to force many turnovers.

Mac Jones (complimentary)

Jones stats looked good and he for the most part played well Sunday. He completed 27-of-39 throws for 347 yards and an 8.9 yards-per-attempt average. He also rushed for a couple of first downs. It’s the second consecutive game Jones has thrown for 300-plus yards.

Mac Jones (derogatory)

Jones’s two interceptions were not great, to be sure. His first one led to the Buccaneers first touchdown, and his second one set up Tampa Bay to kick a game-sealing field goal late in the fourth quarter. The other thing that stands out is that Jones took six sacks. Some were on the offensive line, but others came because he held the ball too long and is clearly hampered by his knee injury trying to move around in the pocket. There are some issues up front, but Jones’ inability to evade pressure was a real problem Sunday.

49ers lose to Buccaneers on the margins

One of the key reasons the 49ers took down the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5 was their ability to do the little things right. They were largely mistake-free. That wasn’t the case Sunday where they lost the turnover battle 2-0, and had a couple brutal penalties that put their patchwork offense in disadvantageous positions. Perhaps the toughest penalty came late in the fourth quarter with the 49ers driving trying to tie the score while trailing 27-19. On fourth-and-1 right guard Dominick Puni drew a false start penalty that made it a more difficult fourth-and-6. That led to Jones’ second interception. As long as San Francisco is this banged up they’ll have to be something close to perfect and they were not that in Tampa Bay.

Kendrick Bourne shines for 49ers again

Bourne was a silver lining for the 49ers on Sunday. After hanging up 142 yards on 10 catches against the Rams, he put up 142 yards on five catches against the Buccaneers. He’s been effective in all three levels of the passing game and his presence has buoyed the 49ers while their receiving corps is dealing with injuries to Ricky Pearsall and Jauan Jennings.

49ers rushing attack still absent

San Francisco hasn’t been able to run the ball all year. That continued Sunday when they put up a season-low 67 rushing yards on 22 carries. In Week 1 they ran for 119 (on 36 attempts), but since then they’ve not cleared 83 yards in a game. They have also not averaged more than 3.7 yards per carry in a game this season.

NFC West standings update

Despite the mess Sunday, San Francisco is still the top team in the NFC West by way of head-to-head tiebreaker. They’re in first place at 4-2, with the 4-2 Seattle Seahawks and 4-2 Rams behind them. The Arizona Cardinals lost again Sunday, dropping them to 2-4 for the season.

Eddy Pineiro is still cash

Pineiro has been flawless since missing an extra point on his first kick with the 49ers. Sunday in Tampa Bay he connected on all four of his field goals, including two from 50-plus yards. Pineiro is now 15-for-15 with the 49ers. He’s eight-for-eight from 40-plus. It’s unlikely the 49ers are going to play in a ton of blowouts this year, so Pineiro’s emergence as a reliable weapon for San Francisco may help them pull out multiple wins down the stretc.

More 49ers: Kyle Shanahan has disastrous injury update on LB Fred Warner after loss to Buccaneers

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 10 49ers vs. Buccaneers game takeaways that stood out

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