The San Francisco 49ers were fresh off their bye week and it showed with a 38-17 Week 9 win, a completely dominant outing against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Nov. 8 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The Niners improved to 7-1 behind a stellar defensive performance that forced the Raiders into five turnovers and held their run game to 24 total yards.
Offensively, the 49ers looked like they picked up where they left off. Despite playing without wideouts Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel Sr. and Christian Kirk, they found a way to keep their offense explosive and rolling.
Quarterback Brock Purdy completed 17-of-25 passes and threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns, eclipsing his 100th career passing touchdown. He also ran for 40 yards and touchdown,
as his game continues to give MVP considerations.
"It's been amazing. Just since the first game he got in there," Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Brock's been the man since he's come in and that's a pretty unbelievable deal considering where he was drafted, how he started. Very fortunate to have Brock.”
Running back Christian McCaffrey tied Hall of Famer Joe Perry for most consecutive games with a rushing touchdown. It was McCaffrey's seventh straight score. He had 18 carries for 68 yards. He added two catches for 19 yards and a touchdown.
The game featured a historic rivalry between two franchises that were once separated by the Bay Bridge. When the Raiders were located in Oakland, it made for the one of the best regional rivalries in sports. Although it's not the same since the Raiders moved to Vegas, it will always be revered by the fans as such.
With Sunday's win, the 49ers took a 9-7 all-time advantage against the Raiders. Here are winners and losers from the matchup:
Winners
49ers defense in third quarter
The 49ers defense forced three turnovers in 3rd quarter, alone. San Francisco forced Las Vegas into an interception by rookie Jaden Dugger who took it back 35 yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the second half. Their two forced fumbles were caused by Fred Warner and Upton Stout.
"That was honestly the emphasis going into this week," Warner said. "I think we just had a spurt where there was a drought in takeaways, and we know how important that is to winning football games and for our team moving forward. ... to come out in the second half and have five of those was unbelievable. It was honestly just guys being in the right spot, doing their job, playing relentlessly, getting to the football and having it on their mind. So, it was definitely a point of emphasis.”
Nick Bosa, DeForest Buckner return
Defensive edge Nick Bosa returned from a five-game absence nursing back from knee and calf injuries. DeForest Buckner returned to the 49ers after being traded by the Indianapolis Colts. Each had a tackle, but it's their presence that has things feeling nostalgic for San Francisco.
"Those are two super disruptive players for our D-line, and the offense has to have a plan for them at all times," Warner said. "It frees up a lot of things for the rest of the defense. Of course, I've got to go back and watch the film to really see just how big of an impact they had. But, I mean, you can't not be happy with the fact that we have both of them out on the field for us going forward."
Buckner said he's home again. He was the last name called during their starting lineup introductions. Warner told him to go last.
"It felt great, you know what I mean? Being able to go out there with those guys and fly around on defense, I mean, you could just feel the energy," Buckner said. "You got to fly around to the ball to go make plays, and that's the fun part about it. Not only competing with the Raiders, but with your fellow teammates, because everybody's hungry to make plays."
Fred Warner's signature punch out
This just felt necessary to point out that Warner's signature punch out caused so many fumbles. Warner had one, and the fumble that Stout caused to save a touchdown was exactly how Warner would have done it himself.
Jordan Watkins breakout game
Jordan Watkins finally had the breakout game that he's capable of. Watkins put up four catches for 86 yards and a touchdown.
"A huge step forward," Shanahan said. "He hasn't gotten his opportunities and some guys have been down andhe's been working and he's been ready for it. I think he's gotten better each week. I think the first week he came out there and played good right away. The ball went his way more this game and he was ready for those opportunities. I thought he's blocked well and stuff. One penalty he'd like to take back, but we can forgive him. That third down was huge. Just the man coverage and going up and making that play on the post. That was a hell of a play."
Losers
49ers still plagued by injury bug
The 49ers suffered a blow to their defensive line as rookie Gracen Halton broke his ankle and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Their starting cornerbacks Renardo Green and Deommodore Lenoir went out with injuries, but Shanahan doesn't expect them to miss the next week.
San Francisco have already taken a blow to their wide receiver room being without Evans, Samuel, Kirk, De'Zhaun Stribling and Ricky Pearsall.
Raiders turnovers
The Las Vegas Raiders turned the ball over five times, including three times in the third quarter. The Raiders had three costly turnovers in the game when they were in prime scoring position. Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw three interceptions in the loss, one returned for a touchdown. The Raiders lost an additional two fumbles.
Raiders lack of a run game
You can credit the 49ers defense if you want, but the Raiders' run game was nonexistent. Ashton Jeanty, the former No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, had just 25 yards on six touches.
Mike Washington Jr. was supposed to see more touches this week. He finished with -3 yards on six carries.
Raiders fans
In Northern California, the Raiders-49ers rivalry is very much alive and fans throughout the region talked trash in the days leading up. Ok, let's be real, as soon as the game was scheduled, the chatter began. There was much anticipation for the game only for 49ers fans to stick it to Raider fans, again. The last time the teams faced in a regular-season was 2023 when the 49ers won 37–34 in overtime on Jan. 1, 2023 in Week 17 of the 2022 NFL season. It's all love between both fanbases. Still, the 49ers get the last laugh.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 49ers return to winning ways coming off bye week: Winners, losers vs Raiders
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