A week ago, the comeback against the New York Jets looked like the turn this season needed. But Sunday’s result in Santa Clara put that idea on hold.
Trailing by 11 in the third quarter, the Las Vegas Raiders took over at the 49ers' 31 with a real shot at making it a one-score game. Their next four possessions all ended in turnovers, and the San Francisco 49ers cruised to a 38-17 win that drops the Raiders to 4-5. Since a 3-0 start, they have lost five of six.
Here is who held up, and who helped hand the 49ers the afternoon.
Winner: Treydan Stukes
The Raiders' second-round safety produced their only takeaway, picking off a Brock Purdy pass meant for George Kittle and returning it to the 49ers' 31. It handed the Raiders their best opening of the day.
The offense coughed
it back up a few plays later, but Stukes did his part.
Winner: The kick return unit
Dylan Laube followed last week's touchdown with a 54-yard kickoff return that set the Raiders up at the 49ers' 42. When that drive stalled at third-and-19, Matt Gay salvaged it with a 50-yard field goal.
The Raiders averaged 31.7 yards on seven kickoff returns, handing the offense better field position than it earned on its own.
Winner: The pass protection
Nick Bosa returned from a calf injury, and DeForest Buckner played his first game back with the 49ers. Neither one sacked Kirk Cousins, and nobody else did either.
The Raiders kept Cousins clean on all 32 pass attempts, even after offensive lineman Trey Zuhn left with a concussion. Whatever went wrong Sunday, the protection wasn't it.
Loser: Kirk Cousins
A week after he refused to hand the Jets a gift, Cousins gift-wrapped three for San Francisco. The worst came on the first snap of the second half. He scooped up his own fumbled snap and threw it to rookie linebacker Jaden Dugger, who took it 35 yards for a score.
Another pick came in the end zone, and the last one ended the Raiders' final possession. His 58.9 passer rating tells the story.
Loser: Ball security near the goal line
The Raiders fumbled away their best chances. Fred Warner punched the ball from tight end Brock Bowers right after Stukes' interception. Later, Upton Stout knocked it loose from tight end Michael Mayer just short of the goal line.
The 49ers hadn't forced five second-half turnovers since doing it to the Raiders at Candlestick Park 20 years ago.
Loser: The run-first plan
Last week's balance vanished fast. The Raiders ran 15 times for 24 yards, 1.6 per carry, and lost 15 more yards on five tackles for loss.
Falling behind 14-0 forced the issue, and the 49ers held the ball for 38:18, leaving few snaps to lean on the run.
Loser: The defense's spot in the record book
The 49ers never punted. They ran 43 times for 190 yards and piled up 414 total yards. The Raiders also became just the fifth team in NFL history to allow 30-plus points six games in a row in a single season.
A defensive highlight, a fourth-down stop on a Purdy sneak, went to waste on Mayer's fumble.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders winners and losers after 38-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers
