Buccaneers and 49ers are aiming to shrug off so-so starts and make strong second-half runs

TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield says he would gladly sacrifice some personal success for a few more victories.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) are riding a three-game losing streak and have dropped four of their past five to fall below .500 for the first time this year.

Mayfield leads the NFL in touchdown passes (23), is second in yards passing (2,389) and seventh in passer rating (105.6).

He has also thrown seven interceptions in his last four games and knows taking better care of the football will be one of the keys to the Bucs getting back on track.

The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers (4-4) visit Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, also hoping to begin distancing themselves from a so-so start of their own.

“You look at the games, some of the ones that we lost, there’s been turnover problems. And so for me, the most important thing is winning,” Mayfield said.

“I’d rather have below average stats and a lot of wins than what I have now,” the No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft said. “So it’s about winning for me.”

The 49ers, who are coming off a bye and could be on the verge of getting star running back Christian McCaffery back from injury, are looking to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

San Francisco has won its past three meetings between the teams, including by double-digits each of the past two years with Brock Purdy at quarterback.

Still, coach Kyle Shanahan remains wary of facing the Bucs with Mayfield playing as well as has while resurrecting his career with Tampa Bay.

Since joining the Bucs in 2023, Mayfield leads the NFL with 51 TD passes — four more than Jordan Love and Dak Prescott have tossed over the same span.

Only Prescott (6,494) has thrown for more than Mayfield’s 6,433 yards during that stretch.

“I think Baker is a stud. ... I thought he was at the top of his game last year, playing real well. And this year, I think he’s the same, if not better,” Shanahan said.

“He’s one of the main reasons I think they were a couple of plays away from playing us in the NFC championship game last year,” the coach added, referencing Tampa Bay’s divisional playoff loss to the Detroit Lions. “We were worried, real worried about him, going into that game.”

CMC’s return

The 49ers struggled to find their groove in the first half of the season, struggling in the red zone and in the short passing game. The return of McCaffrey should help change that.

McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns as won AP Offensive Player of the Year. McCaffrey has missed the entire season with Achilles tendinitis, but is expected to return this week.

“You could put him in any offense and that would make it better,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “Obviously, our offense is kind of tailor-made to him and some of his strengths, so it definitely will be a tremendous lift for us.”

Rest disparity

The 49ers find themselves on the wrong end of the rest disparity this season with four games against teams coming off bye weeks. This week is the opposite case. While San Francisco spent last week resting, the Bucs played Monday night against Kansas City in a game that went to overtime.

“I was hoping the rules would change and they could go to double overtime,” Shanahan said. “It can be an advantage, but I’ve done it enough that you think it’s an advantage and it’s a disadvantage. I’ve been in times where you think the bye week is the rest you need and you feel rested and stuff, but you just got out of your groove a little bit and you’re a little rusty where teams that are going every single week are kind of in their groove.

"So, I’ve seen it both ways. But I definitely would take our side over the other.”

Post-bye surge

The Niners have been their best following a week off in recent regular seasons, going 9-0 after their Week 9 bye in 2022 and then won their first six games following the week off last season. Both of those runs came after up-and-down first halves of the season and fueled playoff pushes.

The Niners have won 70% of their games after the bye weeks in seven seasons under Shanahan.

“I would hope that we’d win more before the bye as well,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “But for some reason, we like to make it hard on ourselves. There’s something about playing desperate that makes you play a little better, I guess.”

Righting the ship

The Bucs, who have won three consecutive NFC South championships, find themselves struggling at the season’s mid-point for the second straight year.

With Mayfield leading the way, the Bucs won five of six down the stretch to climb out of a 4-7 hole to win the division with a 9-8 record in 2023.

“Just keep doing the little things,” coach Todd Bowles said of what the team needs to do moving forward. We play hard, we’ve just got to keep focusing on the little things. If we can clean that up, we feel like we have a good shot.”

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AP Pro Football Writer Josh Dubow contributed to this report.