| Bucs Defense Dominates Bumbling 49ers | |
Sunday, Jan. 12, 1:00 PM ET
At: Raymond James Stadium
Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers found out why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the top-ranked defense in the NFL. Amidst heavy pressure, the 49ers fumbled and stumbled their way to four turnovers and picked up just 227 total net yards on offense, including a mere 62 yards on the ground. Jeff Garcia was harassed all afternoon by the Bucs pass rush, and was sacked four times.
Despite a promising start, fueled by a Rashad Holman interception of quarterback Brad Johnson on the sixth play of the game, the 49ers failed to get the ball into the endzone and were completely shut down on the ground.
Johnson responded to his early mistake by throwing two touchdown passes and leading the Buccaneers on three long scoring drives in the first half before NFL Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks intercepted a Jeff Garcia pass, setting up the second of Mike Alstott's two touchdowns, which opened up a 28-6 halftime lead. Brooks also recovered a Garcia fumble caused by Simeon Rice late in the third quarter.
Tampa Bay tacked on a 19-yard Martin Gramatica field goal early in the second half to close out the scoring as their defense shut out the 49ers in the final two quarters.
San Francisco staged the second-largest comeback in NFL playoff history when they rallied from a 24-point deficit to beat the New York Giants in their wild-card contest. But even their no-huddle offense, which was very instrumental in their first-round win, didn't slow down the Bucs defense.
Wide receiver Terrell Owens was held to just four catches for 35 yards.
The Buccaneers will travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles for the NFC Championship at Veterans Stadium on Sunday.
