(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Dave Canales gets more positive marks for this game. He used varied playcalling and was able to get running back Rachaad White in space, and his numerous end-arounds and reverses kept the 49ers defense on their toes for most of the game. His red zone playcalling was decent, too, marred only by two drops from Cade Otton and Deven Thompkins.
Todd Bowles, however, is a different matter. Because for a defensive head coach, his defense sure seems to struggle a lot in the passing game.
Every week, players blow coverages and miss assignments, and every week, Bowels doesn’t seem to have an answer for it. While it’s true that Tampa Bay’s depth in the secondary is very poor, the sheer amount of confusion in coverage is all coaching — a great example is George Kittle’s receiving touchdown for the 49ers, which saw three Bucs players all around him and none near him from five yards out of the end zone. On top of this, Bowles remains timid with multiple timeouts in first halves and refuses to take chances against superior opponents, which does nothing to help the team. The Bucs may still be in the NFC South race, but they won’t be able to make much noise unless they can fix multiple issues on defense.
