49ers' ground attack too much for Buccaneers in 24-7 triumph
San Francisco churned out a season-high 212 yards behind strong blocking.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Dennis Erickson figured it out three weeks ago: Though Terrell Owens and Jeff Garcia are one of the NFL's most dynamic passing duos, the San Francisco 49ers are a running team.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers came to the same realization Sunday.
Garrison Hearst ran for 117 yards and a touchdown, and Kevan Barlow added 75 yards as the 49ers' offensive line flattened Tampa Bay's vaunted defense in a 24-7 victory that just might have saved Erickson's first season in San Francisco.
It was a one-sided rematch of Tampa Bay's equally one-sided victory over the Niners in last season's playoffs. The Bucs overwhelmed San Francisco's offense throughout a 31-6 win last January, and coach Steve Mariucci was fired three days later.
Season-best output
The Niners ran 41 times for a season-high 212 yards -- and their prowess was even more impressive in the absence of starting offensive linemen Derrick Deese and Eric Heitmann, who are out with ankle injuries.
"If you look back at our team over the recent seasons, we've always been able to run the ball," said Erickson, who replaced Mariucci with a promise to inject more flash into the 49ers' offense.
"That's what occurred to me. You can throw it all over the yard, but this team has to run to win. Everything was clicking today. Once we ran the ball, everything fell into place."
But San Francisco also had plenty of flashy moments, and most were set up when the Super Bowl champions stacked the line against the run. Owens turned a short pass into a 75-yard scoring romp, while Garcia passed for 253 yards and two scores.
"This is a top-flight rushing football team with a mobile quarterback," Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said. "Owens is as good as any player in the league, and you have two physical backs with Hearst and Barlow. ... If we don't play at a high level on all three units, we are going to go to the woodshed."
Disjointed on offense
With just 326 total yards, the Buccaneers (3-3) were disjointed on offense after scoring more than 30 points in each of the past three games. Brad Johnson threw three interceptions and Thomas Jones' fumble cut short a strong drive in the third quarter.
The Bucs are struggling through a series of injuries, and they lost cornerback Brian Kelly to a strained chest muscle in the first half. But that couldn't explain the San Francisco offensive line's dominance against Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice and Co.
"They want to dance. They want to look pretty," said Niners defensive end Chidi Ahanotu, Tampa Bay's former franchise player. "When you run it right at them, you really get into their psyche and take them out of everything they want to do."
Fell behind at half
The Buccaneers also scored on a 75-yard pass when the 49ers lost track of Keenan McCardell late in the first quarter, but that play accounted for nearly half of their yards in the first half as they fell behind 21-7.
"Thinking back right now, I can't think of when we made it easy on ourselves all day," cornerback Ronde Barber said. "Who knows what the Super Bowl champions look like? We don't look like the best team in the league, that's for sure. We've got to represent that title, that's what it's all about."