The San Francisco 49ers blew by the Las Vegas Raiders 38-17 on Sunday, dominating the turnover battle while compiling over 400 total yards of offense.
The 49ers got off to a fast start and never looked back, though the win was overshadowed by a late, season-ending injury to defensive tackle Gracen Halton, who suffered a broken ankle.
Here are three quick takeaways from the 49ers win on Sunday.
Defense responds with turnover streak
The 49ers had a weird end-of-half scenario at the end of the second quarter.
Getting a chance to get the ball back with just under two minutes left up 21-7, Kyle Shanahan let the clock run down 40 seconds with his two timeouts as Las Vegas kicked a field goal.
Then, after a first-down sack, the 49ers let the clock run out and didn’t capitalize on a clear opportunity to score.
However, coming out of the half, Jaden Dugger got a pick-six on the first play from scrimmage, and suddenly, the score was 28-10. That was one of five second-half turnovers for the Raiders.
Las Vegas turned it over on four straight possessions, with a fumble, fumble, interception, and interception, taking away four scoring chances as the lead grew to 38-10. Initially, Fred Warner punched out a ball on Brock Bowers in 49ers territory, forcing the first turnover after the 49ers had an interception themselves.
Then San Francisco turned it over on downs, giving the Raiders another short field, but Michael Mayer fumbled on a big catch-and-run, losing the ball as he stretched for a touchdown and forcing a touchback.
After a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive for the 49ers to make it 35-17, the Raiders once again got down the field into the red zone, but Renardo Green picked off a pass in the red zone for another touchback.
This time, the 49ers drove down for a 12-play field goal drive to seal the deal at 38-17. Lastly, Malik Mustapha ended the game with another interception.
It was just a mean streak from the defense, as they racked up five turnovers on Sunday.
Youngsters shine
With the 49ers offense in its current state, San Francisco was going to have to rely on some of its younger players, just as it had to in the Atlanta Falcons game before the bye week. This time, the results were different.
Kaelon Black led the team in rushing with 70 yards on 11 carries, breaking off a couple of runs on the ground. In the air, Jordan Watkins made a couple of nice catches, leading the team with four catches for 86 yards, including a big 37-yard touchdown catch.
Defensively, Jaden Dugger, whose role has continued to grow, had six tackles, good for second on the team, a pass breakup, and his pick-six that really flipped the game for the 49ers.
It was a very good day for the young 49ers, and the team needed those big performances.
Time of possession
While the Raiders were busy turning the ball over, the 49ers dominated the time of possession 38:18 to 21:42 thanks to a number of well-executed long scoring drives.
The 49ers started fast, and that proved to be a huge boost, as they forced the Raiders to abandon the run, setting up the five second-half turnovers. San Francisco scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives, leading to a 21-10 halftime lead.
More importantly, San Francisco had a 12-play, 13-play, and 12-play drive over those three possessions, taking up nearly 20 minutes of clock.
Then, in the second half, the 49ers followed that up with drives of seven plays (for 80 yards) and 12 plays (for 63 yards) to end the game. It was a methodical day for the 49ers offense, and they executed well to sustain drives, dominating the time of possession while doing so.
