 fell behind by 14 points early before scoring 27 straight to deal the Niners (1-6) their sixth straight loss for San Francisco's longest losing streak since 2008. Mike Evans caught eight passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns , Russell Shepard scored on a 19-yard pass from Winston and Peyton Barber iced the game with a 44-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help Tampa Bay win its second straight game around its bye week. Colin Kaepernick struggled in his second start of the season for the 49ers, going just 16 for 34 for 143 yards and turning the ball over twice after kneeling once again for the national anthem. Kaepernick replaced Blaine Gabbert as starter last week in Buffalo but has not shown any signs that he can regain the form that helped lead San Francisco to a Super Bowl appearance and spot in the NFC title game in the 2012 and `13 seasons. The problems in San Francisco run much deeper than the quarterback position. The Bucs ran for 249 yards as San Francisco has allowed 562 on the ground the past two weeks to put them on pace to give up the most yards rushing in a season since the 1981 New England Patriots. OPPORTUNISTIC PLAY: The Bucs turned two turnovers by San Francisco into 10 points in the third quarter. The first came when Niners rookie Aaron Burbridge collided with punt returner Jeremy Kerley, who was calling for a fair catch. That led to a muff that Tampa Bay recovered, setting up a field goal by Roberto Aguayo. On San Francisco's next possession, Jude Adjei-Barimah blitzed and forced a fumble by Kaepernick that Gerald McCoy recovered. Winston then threw a 3-yard TD pass to Evans to make it 27-14. POROUS DEFENSE: Rodgers didn't take long to become the sixth straight running back to top the 100-yard mark in a game against the 49ers. His 45-yard run in the second quarter set up a field goal by Roberto Aguayo and gave him 102 yards on the day. Rodgers joined Fozzy Whitaker, Christine Michael, Ezekiel Elliott, David Johnson and LeSean McCoy as backs to gain at least 100 yards against San Francisco this season. The Niners are on pace to allow the most yards rushing in a season since 1985. FAST START: For the second time in the past three home games, the Niners broke out to a 14-0 lead and lost it all by halftime. Kaepernick led a 75-yard drive to open the game, capped by Mike Davis' 4-yard run . Gerald Hodges' interception of Winston then set up a 17-yard TD pass from Kaepernick to Shaun Draughn. Tampa Bay scored 17 points in the second quarter to take the lead. Three weeks ago, Dallas fell behind 14-0 before tying the game at halftime and winning 24-17. MISSED KICK: Aguayo, a second-round draft pick, missed his fifth field goal of the season when he was short from 50 yards in the fourth quarter. He is 6-for-11 on the year and has also missed one extra point.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers both will be missing their top running backs when they face off in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday (4:05 p.m. ET, FOX), but that might not matter much considering how poorly both teams are playing against the run. The 49ers, fresh off yielding 312 rushing yards in a blowout loss at Buffalo, are giving up a league-worst 174.3 yards per game on the ground, and the Buccaneers are surrendering 103.8. So, even with Tampa Bay still missing Doug Martin (hamstring) and San Francisco going without Carlos Hyde (ankle), both offenses have a chance to move the ball on the ground Sunday. Without three top defensive linemen, the Bucs (2-3) gave up 136 yards and two touchdowns to Carolina's backup running backs last week. Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who missed the 17-14 win over the Panthers due to a calf strain, returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis and could be available. However, defensive end Robert Ayers (high ankle sprain) and tackle Clinton McDonald (hamstring) did not practice Wednesday and appear unlikely for Sunday. That could open the door for a big game by Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers on the ground. In his first start of the season last week, a 45-16 loss at Buffalo, Kaepernick led the 49ers (1-5) with 66 rushing yards on eight attempts. The 49ers will hope for more out of Mike Davis (13 yards on five runs) and Shaun Draughn (one carry for two yards) as well. Davis was stopped on a key fourth-and-1 play after Hyde was sidelined. Draughn has done this before: He rushed for more than 50 yards three times and scored one touchdown after replacing an injured Hyde as the starter in Week 8 last season." You'll see both those guys," San Francisco coach Chip Kelly said, adding the 49ers will rotate all of their backs if Hyde can't play. The Bucs are in the same spot. With Martin experiencing a setback in his recovery from a hamstring strain, Jacquizz Rodgers will get the call again. The 5-foot-6 tailback is coming off a 101-yard game in Tampa Bay's win over Carolina. Kelly is very familiar with Rodgers, a former Oregon State star who played against Kelly's Oregon team in the Pac-12." Yeah, he was just an unbelievable player in college and very, very difficult to defend," Kelly said. "I think he doesn't get enough credit for how physical he is just because he's not the biggest back in the world, so you automatically think that he's a nifty, nimble, make-you-miss type of guy. He can do that, but he's also a very physical runner, very sturdy, has great balance, great vision." He's a handful, and we have to be very aware of him in their run game because really the run game sets up everything else up for them." Rodgers won't be the only skill player filling a void for the Bucs, who this week placed top receiver Vincent Jackson on injured reserve with an ACL injury. Donteea Dye and Adam Humphries will be counted on to make up for Jackson's absence -- filling in behind Mike Evans, who caught six passes for 89 yards and a score against the Panthers." Every time with these injuries, guys just keep stepping up," Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston said. "We really depend on these guys, and we lean on them." Obviously, Donteea is going to have to step up. This is the moment he's been waiting for. He had a couple of big catches in the game when Vincent got hurt (in 2015), so we trust those guys and we're depending on them. And they know that." Bucs coach Dirk Koetter said, "Any time you lose a player and team leader of Vincent's caliber, it is a setback for your team. Vincent is a very tough-minded player and a great competitor. Even though he doesn't recall when he injured his knee, he was still out there the entire game and made two crucial catches on our final drive to set up the game-winning field goal." I know that being placed on injured reserve is difficult for him, but I also know he will maintain a strong presence in our locker room and will help our younger guys prepare and develop because that's the type of team-first leader he is."
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