Black Friday Sale: Up to 65% off at the 49ers online store →
placeholder image

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports


17 quick observations from the 49ers win in Las Vegas

Marc Adams
Jan 2, 2023 at 8:36 AM

Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.

It was ugly. At times, it was really ugly. But the San Francisco 49ers pulled out a victory in overtime against the Las Vegas Raiders 37-34.

A win is a win, especially on the road, against a team fighting for their playoff lives. But this win unfolded differently than anyone expected, where the league's best defense struggled against a quarterback making his first career start.

But the win is all that matters. Here's what jumped out to me:

  • It's feast or famine with Talanoa Hufanga. Sometimes he makes big plays, sometimes he makes big mistakes.
  • This wasn't the best of starts for the 49ers' defense.
  • I wish we could bubble-wrap the 49ers until the playoffs. Aaron Banks (knee) and Dre Greenlaw (back) were the most recently injured players.
  • George Kittle has five touchdowns in the last three games. He has 10 on the season. He was good early in this game, but not as much as the game went on.
  • By the way, that Brock Purdy touchdown pass to Kittle was impressive.
  • Brandon Aiyuk is the best receiver on the team.
  • T.Y. McGill was a nice pickup for the 49ers.
  • Different team. Different season. But the 49ers still haven't figured out how to stop Davante Adams.
  • Mitch Wishnowsky's bad punt toward the end of the 2nd quarter allowed the Raiders to get that halftime lead. He made up for it later in the game.
  • The defense gave up drives of 6, 10, 10, and 8 plays in the first half. That's not good.
  • The defense started the second half even worse than the first half. Was this an anomaly, or should fans be concerned?
  • Penalties were a problem for the 49ers in this game. The 49ers committed nine of them, some of which wiped out big plays.
  • Kerry Hyder, Jr. had some impactful plays in this game.
  • Ray-Ray McCloud needs to change his name to "Big Play Ray-Ray."
  • Christian McCaffrey. So good! He had almost 200 yards from scrimmage.
  • Two things that you can normally count on with the 49ers let them down on Sunday—the defense & kicker Robbie Gould. Unreal. Your rookie QB gives you the lead, then the defense folds. Then, the rookie QB gets you in a spot to win the game, and you miss the field goal.
  • But in the end, the defense came up with the play to win the game. And Gould redeemed himself.

The 49ers close out the regular season next Sunday at home against the Arizona Cardinals. With a victory over the Cardinals and an Eagles loss to the Giants, the 49ers would earn the NFC top overall seed—and an all-important first-round bye.

Go Giants!

The opinions within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.
Enjoy this article? Follow us to never miss more!

Powered by Follow.it


Comments

More San Francisco 49ers News

placeholder image

For The Win makes the case for the 49ers to sign former first-round QB

By David Bonilla
Nov 22

Let's start by acknowledging that this scenario is highly unlikely to unfold. While Brock Purdy's status for Sunday's playoff rematch between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers remains uncertain, the team does not appear to view his shoulder injury as a long-term...


placeholder image

Vernon Davis: 49ers can win NFC West but may have missed championship window

By David Bonilla
Nov 20

Despite a 5-5 record, the San Francisco 49ers remain in contention for the NFC West title thanks to a tightly contested division. While currently in last place, they are just one game behind the first-place Arizona Cardinals, who sit at 6-4. Former 49ers tight end Vernon Davis...


placeholder image

Deebo Samuel: 49ers can win with Brock Purdy or Brandon Allen at QB

By David Bonilla
Nov 27

The San Francisco 49ers' 2024 season has not gone as planned. Sitting at 5-6 and in last place in the NFC West, the team is reeling after a 38-10 blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers. The 49ers have been plagued by injuries, with key players such as quarterback Brock Purdy,...


placeholder image

49ers' Kyle Shanahan on blocking out online noise: 'Don't make someone else's reality your reality'

By David Bonilla
5 hrs

Kyle Shanahan takes a pragmatic approach to handling online criticism—he ignores it. The San Francisco 49ers head coach recently opened up about his mindset during a challenging season for his squad, which was once considered a Super Bowl favorite but is now 5-6 and...


Latest

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone