The San Francisco 49ers entered today’s game with a golden opportunity to gain some ground in the NFC West, and instead they laid an egg as the offense failed to show up. The 49ers offense could do seemingly nothing right all day long as they were shut out at home for the first time since 1977.
Although Troy Smith struggled immensely for really the first time, blame can be spread around the team. Frank Gore could get nothing going against a rushing defense that had struggled thus far. The offensive line was atrocious as they gave up numerous sacks to a defense that was not exactly known for their pass rush. The receivers dropped some catchable passes and Josh Morgan had a critical early game fumble.
Of course, I don’t want to take away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who took advantage of the 49ers mistakes and played a solid ball game. Josh Freeman struggled early but took care of business late, and their rushing attack put together a very solid effort. The Bucs defense also deserves a ton of credit for their best performance of the year as they stopped the 49ers in just about every facet of the game.
All in all it was an awful day at Candlestick and brutally tough to watch on television. This team certainly makes it hard to enjoy football.