Moody shrugs off 3 missed FGs to kick 49ers past Buccaneers 23-20 in McCaffrey’s season debut

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jake Moody said his confidence never wavered. Not even after a frustrated teammate confronted him on the sideline.

The usually reliable San Francisco kicker made up for missing three earlier field goals by booting a 44-yarder as time expired Sunday to give the 49ers a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in running back Christian McCaffrey’s season debut.

“I really, really wanted a chance to redeem myself,” said Moody, who in his first game back after being sidelined three weeks with a sprained ankle, also kicked field goals of 28 and 33 yards for the defending NFC champion 49ers (5-4), who have won consecutive games for the first time this season.

“I felt really confident, really good going that direction. It was the same exact spot as the previous one,” Moody said. “I saw what happened with the previous one and was able to make an adjustment.”

Moody, who was 13 of 14 entering Sunday, delivered the winner after missing wide left from 49 and 50 yards and then wide right on a 44-yard attempt that would have given San Francisco a six-point lead with 3:09 remaining.

TV cameras caught 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel exchanging words and appearing to shove long snapper Taybor Pepper when the frustrated wide receiver approached Moody on the sideline after the third miss.

Moody shrugged off the sideline incident involving Samuel. who had five catches for 62 yards.

“It’s an emotional game. Stuff like that happens all the time,” Moody said, adding he’s not looking for an apology from Samuel. “You just move past it. We won, so that’s all that matters.

“Like I said, heat of the moment, it happens. I do have to make those kicks at the end of the day. That’s all I’m focused on.”

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said he didn’t see what happened.

“Guys are frustrated, something probably happened ... brothers scuffle a little bit. I didn’t see any of it, so I don’t know how bad it was,” Shanahan said. “It’s something I’m not too worried about. We’ll fix it, if it hasn’t been fixed already. We’ll fix it on the plane and go back to loving each other (Monday).”

McCaffrey returned to practice last Monday after being sidelined since early September due to Achilles tendinitis. He carried for 5 yards on the first play and game and finished with 39 yards rushing on 13 attempts. The 2023 AP Offensive Player of the Year also had six receptions for 68 yards.

Baker Mayfield led a drive to set up a tying field goal for Tampa Bay (4-6) with help from three straight personal foul penalties — setting the stage for Moody to win it for the 49ers. Mayfield finished 18 of 29 passing for 116 yards and one TD for the Bucs, who have lost four in a row.

It was the second straight week Tampa Bay lost on the final play of the game. They forced overtime at Kansas City the previous game, then lost 36-30 when Patrick Mahomes led the Super Bowl champion Chiefs to a touchdown on the first possession of OT.

“We have to finish ballgames,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. “There’s nothing wrong with how hard we’re playing and how tough we’re playing, but we have to finish games. ... We’re making too many mistakes at the end.”

Brock Purdy threw for 353 yards without an interception, and had touchdowns of 46 yards to rookie Ricky Pearsall — the wide receiver’s first NFL score — and 11 yards to George Kittle. He moved his team into position for the winning field goal with two completions to Jauan Jennings and two more to Pearsall.

Pearsall sat out the first six games after being shot in the chest after an autograph session in downtown San Francisco on Aug. 31. On his touchdown, he caught a pass over the middle from Purdy, accelerated toward the left sideline where he outran the pursuit until safety Antoine Winfield Jr. closed in and nearly brought him down as the receiver extended the ball over the goal line.

The Bucs wiped out a 10-0 deficit with help from 49ers punt returner Jacob Cowing, whose third-quarter muff was recovered at San Francisco’s 21 to set up Tampa Bay’s first TD. Four plays later, Mayfield threw a 9-yard scoring pass to Rachaad White that made it 10-10.

Rookie Bucky Irving scored on 12-yard run that put Tampa Bay ahead 17-13 early in the fourth quarter. Purdy answered with his TD throw to Kittle to put the 49ers back in front with just over seven minutes left.

“They are a good team that’s lost some games, some close ones, and it was a day before their bye week, so we knew we were going to get their best shot,” Shanahan said. “We had some opportunities to run away with it. We didn’t. That was on us.”

Injuries

49ers: DE Nick Bosa played after being listed as questionable after hurting his hip in practice.

Buccaneers: LT Tristan Wirfs limped off with a right knee injury in the second quarter and did not return. CB Zyon McCollum (hamstring) and LB Chris Braswell (oblique) departed in the second half.

Up next

49ers: Host NFC West rival Seattle next Sunday.

Buccaneers: Bye week.

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