49ers vs raiders : how to watch 49ers vs raiders. Football has officially returned! The San Francisco 49ers opened their preseason schedule against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas, following two joint practises with the team earlier in the week. While the majority of the 49ers’ expected starters worked out, the majority of the first-team offence and defence did not play in the preseason opener. Sunday’s game featured draught picks, newbies to the team, and undrafted signings.
“We got two good practices against them. I always like when we can do that, and we practiced really hard the second day with the ones so we don’t have to dress any of them today,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said.
“I didn’t enjoy that game by any means today, but a lot of guys got a lot of valuable reps and that gives them a chance to make our team and gives us a chance to coach them up tomorrow.”
Here are six key takeaways from Sunday’s game:
San Francisco’s quarterback competition continues.
Trey Lance, a third-year quarterback, started the game on Sunday and, after settling in, increased his output in the second quarter. During the 49ers’ fourth possession, he drove the team down the field, capping off a seven-play, 61-yard drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ross Dwelley. Lance fired into the end zone, but his pass was deflected by Raiders CB Duke Shelley and caught by Dwelley for the touchdown.
“Dwelley ended up making a great play,” Lance said. “The defense made a great play, I didn’t think they’d be able to get to it. Guys made great plays and (the touchdown) ended up working out.”
Lance’s most spectacular play of the day was a third-down conversion pass to wide receiver Chris Conley for a 17-yard gain. He finished the day 10-of-15 for 112 yards, a touchdown, and a 111.0 passing rating.
In the second half, Sam Darnold took over, guiding the 49ers into Las Vegas territory on two of three drives, but scoring possibilities were thwarted by a turnover on downs, fumble, and failed field goal. After completing five of nine passes for 84 yards, he was replaced by Brandon Allen early in the fourth quarter.
“I thought (Darnold) did a great job coming in the second half,” Shanahan said. “You’re in there with twos and threes on the offensive line and same with the receivers and everything. We wanted to be careful with Sam for that reason, but we also wanted him to play too.”
Allen spent the most of the second half at quarterback, completing five of eight pass attempts for 36 yards.
Clelin Ferrell, a defensive lineman, made his first sack in a 49ers uniform.
After four seasons with the Raiders, the former first-round pick signed with San Francisco in March and has begun making plays for the red and gold. Ferrell derailled the second offensive series by sacking Las Vegas quarterback Aidan O’Connell for a six-yard loss and debuting his iconic fishing pole sack celebration. On fourth-and-seven, the Raiders punted the ball.
Ambry Thomas, a cornerback, continued his impressive training camp performance with a flurry of big plays in Las Vegas.
Thomas had a great first half, with two big pass breakups and a fourth-down run stop. The third-year corner dealt with an ankle injury in 2022 that kept him off the pitch for the second part of the season, but he’s made a strong comeback. On third-and-seven, two plays after Ferrell tackled O’Connell, Thomas deflected a ball intended for wide receiver Tre Tucker to finish the drive for Las Vegas. His second PBU occurred on the final offensive drive of the first half for Las Vegas, avoiding a large gain on first-and-ten. Thomas and defensive lineman Kerry Hyder Jr. combined in the second quarter to halt Raiders running back Zamir White in his tracks and force a turnover on downs.
Rookie kicker Jake Moody made his NFL debut at Allegiant Stadium
Moody was selected by the 49ers in the third round (99th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draught, and he received his first chance under the bright lights of an NFL stadium on Sunday. The youngster made all of his extra point attempts but missed both of his field goal attempts from 40 and 58 yards out.
“I’m not (worried about the kicking situation),” Shanahan said. “It’s unfortunate because I know the pressure on him, everybody’s looking and he missed those two today. He’s been great in practice. He’s hit them all. I was just excited to attempt a long one, which was fun, but the toes missed.
“He’s been great and handles himself well, so there are no issues with me.”
Wide receiver Ronnie Bell made a strong case for himself to be the 49ers’ punt returner.
The seventh-round pick is competing with cornerback D’Shawn Jamison and wide receiver Willie Snead IV for the team’s punt and kick returner spot. Ray-Ray McCloud III, San Francisco’s 2022 return specialist, is expected to be out for the next eight weeks after breaking his wrist in practise on Tuesday. In the first half of Sunday’s game, Bell was San Francisco’s return specialist, fielding two punts for a yard and three kick returns for 57 yards. He was also active in the passing game, catching three passes for 57 yards.
“I thought Ronnie did some really good things in the return game, he had the jet sweep and made some good passes,” Shanahan said. “His best route was the one he served up to him on the pick so that was unfortunate. I thought those (young wide receivers) showed some good things.”
In the second half, Jamison and running back Jeremy McNichols were given the opportunity to split return specialist duties.
The 49ers’ offensive production was hampered by turnover issues.
The Raiders scored 14 points off of a San Francisco fumble late in the third quarter and a tipped ball early in the fourth quarter. Las Vegas’ extra possession, combined with failed field goal opportunities, accounted for a big percentage of the point deficit on Sunday.