Kyle Shanahan’s expression said it all as Sunday’s game came to an end for the San Francisco 49ers against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After Jake Moody scored a game-winning field goal as time expired, the 49ers head coach didn’t have a look that suggested he would come out on top.

There’s a reason for this. San Francisco played ugly football despite the narrow 23-20 victory. Mistakes that occurred during the first eight games leading up to last week’s farewell game were once again common.

Moody missed three field goals. A botched punt return led directly to one of two Bucccaneers touchdowns in a game that shouldn’t have been close.

Just as frustrating as their special teams issues, penalties and fouls were the name of the game on both sides of the ball. That included two 15-yard penalties on San Francisco’s defense as Tampa Bay marched down the field for a tie game late in the fourth quarter.

Despite all this, the 49ers relied on Brock Purdy to do his thing in a game that Shanahan’s team had to win. Here I look at some takeaways from Sunday’s game.

Deebo Samuel’s frustration told us a story

With the 49ers leading 20-17 in the fourth quarter, Moody missed his third field goal of the game. It was a 50 meter variant. But it didn’t even come close to hitting the goalposts.

A good kick would have given San Francisco a six-point lead. Instead, the Bucs were able to clinch the next possession with a field goal. All the while, Samuel was absolutely thrilled on the sidelines. He went after both long snapper Taybor Pepper and Moody. It was an ugly scene.

Shanahan tried to downplay it a bit after the game.

“I didn’t see any of it, so I don’t know how bad it was,” the head coach told reporters. “It’s something I’m not too worried about. We fix it. If it’s not resolved yet, we’ll fix it on the plane and love each other again tomorrow.”

Samuel, for his part, said after the victory that he was “frustrated” and that he was in the “heat of the battle.”

It’s one thing to be frustrated. It’s a completely different thing to go after a teammate like that. It’s not something we’ve seen with the 49ers under Shanahan.

Christian McCaffrey’s return for the San Francisco 49ers

The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year made his season debut after missing the first eight games due to an Achilles injury. Based on a simple count, he wasn’t limited like everyone else.

As for what we saw from McCaffrey, his involvement was more evident in the passing game. The running back totaled just 39 yards on 13 attempts. His long came via a flight of 13 meters. McCaffrey recorded six receptions for 68 yards on seven targets.

It’s no surprise that McCaffrey struggled on the ground to some extent. He hadn’t seen live game action since February’s Super Bowl. Expect him to pay more attention to his game in the future. However, the addition to San Francisco’s passing attack proved to be big in this one.

Special teams fouls again for San Francisco 49ers

This is the worst special teams unit in the NFL. It doesn’t even have to be that close. We’ve seen it all season. A lack of control of kick and kick returns. Turning it around with a few stupid mistakes.

Sunday’s match was no different. Jake Moody made his first appearance since Week 5 and missed three of his six field goal attempts. The misses came from 49, 50 and 44 yards respectively.

Sure enough, Moody nailed the game-winning 44-yard field goal. But leaving nine points on the board is simply not acceptable.

Speaking of unacceptable, a muffed punt by rookie Jacob Cowing early in the second half changed the course of the game. San Francisco’s defense had forced a three-and-out to get things going, potentially giving the team momentum.

Instead, Tampa Bay got the ball right back. Baker Mayfield and Co. drove the ball 21 yards down the field in four plays, culminating in a tying touchdown.

In reality, San Francisco’s special teams cost it 16 points in a game that shouldn’t have been as close as the final score indicated. That’s just not acceptable. Period.

Brock Purdy stars for San Francisco 49ers

Purdy pretty much won San Francisco this game. The third-year quarterback was methodical throughout the game. He put his receivers in position to cover a large number of yards after the catch.

Purdy handled the pressure well. He found lanes to throw through. Some were absolutely cramped windows. It was perhaps Purdy’s best performance of the season.

Ultimately, Purdy completed 25 of 36 passes for 353 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He completely defeated Baker Mayfield. It’s certainly a good way to get out of trouble with a series of tough games ahead.

Other comments on the San Francisco 49ers’ ugly win

• Nick Bosa did have to deal with a sack of Mayfield in the second half. But he went three quarters without putting any pressure on the quarterback. That was notable because Buccaneers left tackle Tristan Wirfs left early due to an injury. Late in the fourth quarter, Bosa seemingly had Mayfield wrapped up for a sack. But the quarterback avoided it. He converted in third place. It was a brilliant play from Mayfield. However, it was a display of Bosa struggling to get out of the bye.
• Rookie first-round pick Ricky Pearsall had the best game of his career on Sunday. He opened the scoring with a huge 46-yard touchdown catch. It was great to see after Pearsall had to come back after being the victim of a shooting in San Francisco in August. It was also a representation of what the 49ers liked when they drafted him in the first round. All told, Pearsall caught four passes for 73 yards in the win.
• Jauan Jennings returned from his two-game absence on Sunday and picked up where he left off. The underrated receiver caught seven of his 11 targets for 93 yards. He came in absolutely huge third place several times. With Brandon Aiyuk sidelined for the season, Jennings will have to continue playing at this level. San Francisco needs to have faith that this will happen.
• San Francisco entered Week 10 ranked 28th in the NFL in red zone success rate (touchdowns only). It’s been a big problem all season. Certainly, Moody missing field goals doesn’t help. But you want to be able to get away with six pretty much every time. That didn’t happen on Sunday. The 49ers turned three red zone trips into just one touchdown. This is not a recipe for success.
• Next: The San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks in a divisional game next Sunday.