49ers 33, Buccaneers 14
Colin Kaepernick threw for 203 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lift visiting San Francisco to its fourth consecutive victory.
Tight end Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree had five catches and a scoring reception apiece as the 49ers (10-4) remained two games behind first-place Seattle in the AFC West. Frank Gore rushed for 86 yards on 22 carries and Phil Dawson kicked four field goals for San Francisco, which missed out on a chance to clinch a playoff spot when Arizona won at Tennessee later Sunday.
Rookie Mike Glennon was unable to rally Tampa Bay (4-10) from an early 17-point deficit and finished 18-of-34 for 179 yards with two TDs and one interception. Tight end Tim Wright had seven catches for 82 yards and a score while Vincent Jackson added a TD reception for the Buccaneers, who were limited to 39 yards rushing.
The 49ers dominated the opening 30 minutes, forcing five consecutive punts by Tampa Bay and taking a 17-0 lead on Kaepernick's scoring passes to Crabtree and Davis - the latter coming with 1:47 left in the second quarter. The Buccaneers finally got untracked and drove 80 yards in seven plays, capped by Glennon's 11-yard scoring strike to Jackson with 29 seconds to play in the half.
Tampa Bay's Lavonte David had an apparent 69-yard interception return for a TD negated by a penalty early in second half, but the Buccaneers got within 20-14 on Glennon's 24-yard touchdown pass to Wright on the first play of the fourth quarter. The 49ers responded with a 17-play drive that ate up 10:27 before Dawson booted a 21-yarder with 4:27 left, and Kendall Hunter recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and returned it 2 yards for a score to make it 30-14.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Crabtree, who made his season debut two weeks ago after recovering from surgery on his Achilles' tendon, became the first San Francisco player other than WR Anquan Boldin and Davis to catch a TD pass this season. ... Buccaneers DT Gerald McCoy became the fourth player in franchise history to accumulate eight sacks in a season. ... Gore went over 1,000 yards for the seventh time in his career, while Dawson's four field goals extended his team record to 24 in a row.