49ers outlast Raiders 37-34 in overtime barnburner

The Las Vegas Raiders weren't expected to put up much of a fight against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, but they wound up giving the 49ers all they could handle, sending the game to overtime before an interception by safety Tashaun Gipson helped the 49ers come out of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with a 37-34 victory.

The Raiders entered the game as 9.5-point underdogs after handing over the keys to the offense to backup Jarrett Stidham while apparently deciding to move on from long-time starter Derek Carr. Stidham delivered an inspired performance for much of the game, completing 23-of-34 passes for 365 yards and three touchdowns. But two interceptions cost him in the end, in particular the interception by Gipson, which set up a game-winning field goal from kicker Robbie Gould from 23 yards out.

49ers quarterback Brock Purdy finished with 284 yards on 22-of-35 passing with two touchdowns and one interception. Running back Christian McCaffrey had a standout performance for the 49ers, chipping in with 19 carries for 121 yards and one touchdown with six catches for 72 yards. 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk caught nine passes for 101 yards, while Raiders receiver Davante Adams continued a career trend of haunting the 49ers with seven catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

First Half

Stidham and the Raiders started the game hot with a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended in a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darren Waller to take an early 7-0 lead. Stidham completed a 20-yard pass to tight end Foster Moreau to start the drive, then after three short runs and a 14-yard completion to running back Josh Jacobs, Stidham lofted a third down pass to an open Waller to put the Raiders on top.

The 49ers matched the Raiders' strong start with a touchdown drive of their own, this one spanning 67 yards in eight plays. Running back Christian McCaffrey put up 53 yards on three carries on the drive, with most of those yards coming on a 37-yard run that set the 49ers up with a 1st-and-Goal at the 1-yard line. Two plays later, Purdy connected with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk to finish the drive and tie the game.

The Raiders once again drove deep into 49ers territory on their second possession, marching to the 5-yard line in six plays. But the 49ers held the Raiders out of the end zone, forcing them to settle for a 20-yard field goal from Daniel Carlson to take a 10-7 lead. The 49ers found themselves in a similar situation on the next drive, facing a 1st-and-Goal on the 6-yard line after steadily moving downfield on a series of short runs and passes (along with two pass interference calls on the Raiders). But the 49ers were able to do what the Raiders couldn't on the previous drive when Purdy found tight end George Kittle in the back of the end zone on third down for his second touchdown pass of the game and a 14-10 lead.

The 49ers again bent but didn't break on the next possession, this time using a goal line stand to hold the Raiders off the scoreboard after a lengthy drive. The Raiders moved 72 yards on nine plays before facing a 4th-and-1 at the 49ers' 2-yard line, but the 49ers stood up the fourth down run by Jacobs for no gain and forced a turnover on downs with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

The Raiders held the 49ers to a three-and-out, then took over on the 49ers' 44-yard line after a 37-yard punt by Mitch Wishnowsky. This time they hit pay dirt by finishing their drive with a four-yard touchdown pass from Stidham to Adams to take a 17-14 lead with ten seconds left in the half. Stidham faced a 1st-and-Goal with no timeouts remaining and floated a pass to Adams in the back corner of the end zone, and Adams did the rest by making the catch and dragging his feet for the score.

The touchdown put a bow on a productive first half for the Raiders, who put up 246 total yards to 124 from the 49ers and converted 17 first downs on 33 plays. Stidham finished the half with 145 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions on 11-of-14 passing, while Purdy completed 7-of-10 passes for 38 yards and two touchdowns.

Second Half

The 49ers opened the third quarter with a three-and-out, then the Raiders kept firing on offense by using a big play to open up a 10-point lead. After a third-down face mask penalty on linebacker Fred Warner earlier in the possession kept the 49ers from forcing the Raiders to punt, Stidham escaped pressure on an ensuing third down and found Adams wide open behind the defense for a 60-yard score.

The 49ers fought back on the next possession by putting together an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown run from McCaffrey to cut the Raiders' lead to 24-21. An 18-yard completion to wide receiver Jauan Jennings helped the 49ers overcome a 1st-and-20 earlier in the drive after a holding penalty on Kittle, then McCaffrey ran in with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter to bring the 49ers back to within one score.

The Raiders were held to a three-and-out and their first punt of the game on the next possession, but they got the ball right back after a mistake by Purdy on a deep pass intended for Kittle. Purdy threw downfield to Kittle on the third play of the next possession, but his pass was late and landed in the arms of cornerback Amik Robinson for an interception that gave the Raiders the ball at their own 18-yard line.

Momentum quickly shifted back in the opposite direction on the next drive after the 49ers came up with an interception of their own. After moving across midfield, the Raiders faced a 2nd-and-10 from the 49ers' 46-yard line when defensive lineman Kerry Hyder batted a Stidham pass in the air and into the arms of defensive end Drake Jackson, who picked off the pass and gave the 49ers the ball at the Raiders' 42-yard line. The 49ers turned the interception into a 43-yard field goal from Gould to tie the game at 24.

The Raiders punted after five plays on the next possession, then the 49ers opened the following drive with a bang when Purdy threw a short pass to receiver Ray-Ray McCloud that McCloud turned into a 42-yard gain. The 49ers eventually moved inside the 10-yard line but were held out of the end zone and had to settle for a 24-yard field goal from Gould, giving them a 27-24 lead with seven minutes remaining in the game. The Raiders answered with a seven-play, 36-yard drive that ended with 57-yard field goal from Carlson to tie the game at 27 with just over four minutes remaining.

McCaffrey struck again on the next drive, putting the 49ers in position to score a go-ahead touchdown. After a 23-yard completion earlier in the drive moved the 49ers close to midfield, McCaffrey took a screen pass 38 yards to the Raiders' 14-yard line. Rookie running back Jordan Mason followed McCaffrey's catch with a 14-yard touchdown run -- the first of his NFL career -- to give the 49ers a 34-27 lead.

The Raiders took over at their own 25-yard line after the ensuing kickoff, with 2:17 on the clock and two timeouts remaining. Stidham completed a 21-yard pass to receiver Mack Hollins on the first play of the drive, then after a holding penalty knocked the Raiders back 10 yards, Stidham completed a 45-yard pass to Adams that moved the Raiders down to the 19-yard line. A pass interference call on Warner in the end zone on the next play gave the Raiders a 1st-and-Goal at the 1, then Jacobs ran in to tie the game at 34 with 1:11 remaining.

The 49ers began their final possession at their own 25 with all three of their timeouts remaining and moved across midfield after two completions to Aiyuk. A third completion to Aiyuk moved the 49ers to the 34-yard line with 27 seconds on the clock, then tje two connected for a fourth consecutive time to move the ball to the 23-yard line. The 49ers took a timeout with two seconds on the clock, giving Gould a chance from 41 yards out. But Gould's kick sailed right, sending the game to overtime.

Overtime

The Raiders won the pre-overtime coin toss and chose to begin the extra session on offense. After runs from Josh Jacobs, the 49ers defense made their biggest play of the day when Stidham, who was pressured by defensive end Nick Bosa, lofted a pass downfield that was picked off by safety Gipson, who returned the interception 37 yards into Raiders territory. An illegal block penalty tacked onto the return gave the 49ers the ball at the Raiders' 3-yard line, then Gould connected from 23 yards two plays later to give the 49ers a 37-34 win.

The 49ers moved to 12-4 with the win and stayed in contention for the number one seed in the NFC after losses earlier in the day by the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) and Minnesota Vikings (12-4). The win was the ninth straight for the 49ers. The Raiders fell to 6-10 with the loss.

Game Notes: Sunday's game was the first meeting between the 49ers and Raiders since the Raiders left Oakland for Las Vegas. The 49ers had lost four of five against the Raiders coming into the day but defeated the Raiders in their final Bay Area meeting (34-3 at Levi's Stadium on November 1, 2008)... With the win the 49ers moved to 8-7 all-time against the Raiders... With a 6-yard catch in the second quarter, McCaffrey set a record for most receptions by a running back in his first six NFL seasons, breaking a mark held by 49ers legend Roger Craig... The 49ers will close the season next Sunday with a home game against the 4-12 Arizona Cardinals (time TBA). A win over the Cardinals would give the 49ers a perfect 6-0 record in the NFC West this season.

Related News

• 49ers beat Raiders in overtime in Brock Purdy-Jarrett Stidham QB duel Pro Football Talk • Jan 1, 2023
• 49ers vs. Raiders: Notes and thoughts from 49ers' OT win Niners Wire • Jan 1, 2023
• Tashaun Gipson interception sets up 49ers' overtime win against Raiders Touchdown Wire • Jan 1, 2023
• Instant analysis of 49ers' 37-34 overtime win at Las Vegas Raiders The Mercury News • Jan 1, 2023
  May require subscription
• Not the way anyone expected, but 49ers pull off OT win vs. Raiders San Francisco Chronicle • Jan 1, 2023
  May require subscription
• 49ers observations: Christian McCaffrey fuels overtime win vs. Raiders NBCS Bay Area • Jan 1, 2023