The 49ers rolled over the Buccaneers 35–7 on Sunday in San Francisco behind a dominant defensive effort that stymied the Tampa Bay offense led by quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady turned in an inefficient performance, completing 34-of-55 passes for 253 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
One of those two interceptions was secured by San Francisco linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who kept the football after the pick and later asked Brady to sign the ball for him during the postgame handshakes.
Brady obliged before shaking Greenlaw’s hand and running off the field after the game.
Greenlaw discussed his exchange with Brady during the postgame press conference.
“Man, the worst thing he could tell me is no,” Greenlaw said with a smile after the game. “I was always told if you don’t ask, you’ll never know. He’s a good guy to sign that ball after he threw the pick, that’s big time so I appreciate him. He’s the greatest, he’s the GOAT, so I appreciated that.”
The 49ers’ top-ranked defense gave the Tampa Bay offense fits, and provided breathing room for the debut of quarterback Brock Purdy. The rookie completed 16-of-21 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns to pace the San Francisco offense, which was able to play from ahead all game long.
San Francisco moved to 9–4 on the season, and will head to Seattle on a short week to play the Seahawks on Thursday night. As for the Bucs, they dropped to 6–7 on the season, but remain in first place in the NFC South by a game over the Panthers (5–8) and Falcons (5–8). They host Cincinnati next Sunday in Tampa.
