Countdown to Kickoff: Buccaneers-49ers, Week 14 2022

The 6-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers will travel to the West Coast to take on the 8-4 San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Week 14. The two division leaders will battle for position in the overall NFC standings. The Bucs will aim to catapult themselves forward by snapping the 49ers’ five-game win streak. It’s December and the stakes are higher, with postseason implications encompassing the matchup for both clubs. Tampa Bay won three of its previous four games, securing jaw-dropping comebacks against the Rams (Week Nine) and Saints (Week 13). Meanwhile, the 49ers are continuing their tour of terror, winning five in a row, the latest being a Week 13 victory over the surging Dolphins with rookie Brock Purdy at the helm for most of the game.

The marquee matchup pits the 49ers’ top-ranked defense in yards and points allowed against an embattled Bucs’ offensive unit, struggling to find its identity. The Niners’ boast a plethora of talent who are among the NFL’s best at their positions: Trent Williams, Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Kyle Juszcyk. The Buccaneers will hope to fortify their hold in the NFC with a victory on Sunday in Santa Clara. After a week of preparation, here is what Sunday’s clash comes down to:

• San Francisco has the NFL’s No. 1 defense in terms of yards and points allowed. In contrast, Tom Brady is 7-0 in his career in Week Five or later against team’s ranked No. 1 in scoring and total defense (including playoffs).
• The 49ers have four players averaging 45-plus yards per game in 2022, with Brandon Aiyuk (58.2), Deebo Samuel (51.7), George Kittle (47.2), and Christian McCaffrey. San Francisco leads the NFL by having 58.6 percentage of their pass yards coming after the catch.
• On the offensive side of the ball, the 49ers boast two of the league’s top four players in generating yards after the catch over expected per Next Gen Stats (McCaffrey in first with plus-175, Samuel in fourth with plus-136). On the defensive side of the ball, Niners’ defensive cornerstone Nick Bosa leads the NFL in sacks with 14.5.
• The Buccaneers have scored 22 or fewer points in each of their last eight games – the longest such streak by any Tom Brady-led team all-time. Additionally, the Buccaneers’ worst-ranked rushing offense will face a top-ranked 49ers run defense (75.6) on Sunday.

• In Week 13, the Buccaneers were without the services of Mike Edwards (hamstring), Antoine Winfield Jr. (ankle) and…