LAS VEGAS — Back and forth they went, slugging it out like prize fighters in a pay-per-view bout on the nearby Vegas Strip.
The 49ers and the Raiders traded points, delivered hits, and made big-time plays in this, an epic first meeting of these former Bay Area neighbors since the Raiders fled in 2020 across the state line.
Robbie Gould’s 23-yard field goal sent the 49ers home with a 37-34 overtime win, but only after Nick Bosa’s pass rush and Tashaun Gipson’s ensuing interception return set up that final-round knockout.
“The Raiders answered so many times,” coach Kyle Shanahan said, “but we ended up doing it last.”
The victory will reverberate into the playoffs, as the NFC West champion 49ers (12-4) moved into the NFC’s No. 2 seed, with a chance to even claim the No. 1 spot. That seeding will depend on next weekend’s regular-season finale: A 10th straight win (at home against the Arizona Cardinals) and a third straight Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) loss (at home against the New York Giants) would secure the top seed.
The 49ers leapfrogged the Minnesota Vikings (12-4) into the No. 2 spot by virtue of a tiebreaker in NFC games; the 49ers are 9-2 in those, and the Vikings fell to 7-4 in them with Sunday’s 41-17 loss at Green Bay.
“Being able to tell the team that right now we have the 2-seed and can take care of business, that fires the guys up,” Shanahan said. ”Our playoffs started a long time ago is the way we look at it, and we’re going to keep it going.”
As epic a shootout as it was at Allegiant Stadium, it took a monumental play from the 49ers’ defense to finish things. That came when Bosa, a favorite to win the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, drove left tackle Kolton Miller into the pocket and into quarterback Jarrett Stidham as he threw a pass, which fluttered into the arms of Gipson for an interception.
That set up Gould’s 23-yard game-winner, his sweet redemption after pushing a 42-yard field-goal attempt wide right to invite overtime.
It was the 49ers’ tightest game of the year, and it saw rookie Brock Purdy win his fourth straight start at quarterback, though he nearly met his match in Jarrett Stidham, who excelled in his first career start after the Raiders’ mid-week benching of Derek Carr.
Purdy finished 22-of-35 passing for 284 yards with two touchdowns (on their first two drives) and an interception. Stidham was 23-of-34 passing for 365 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
“What Brock’s doing is real,” Shanahan said. “When makes mistakes, understands why and learns from them.”
The fourth quarter finished with a flurry of points, plays and, alas, Gould’s miss. To wit:
Jordan Mason’s 14-yard touchdown run with 2:17 remaining put the 49ers in front 34-27, and it came a play after Christian McCaffrey caught a Purdy pass and smashed a defender, rumbling for 34 yards. That play came shortly after a 23-yard catch by Brandon Aiyuk.
Josh Jacobs’ 1-yard touchdown run with 1:11 remaining tied things again, and it came a play after Fred Warner’s pass-interference penalty in the end zone, which came shortly after Davante Adams’ 45-yard, acrobatic catch at the 19-yard line.
Not since their last two defeats — back-to-back games against Atlanta and Kansas City — had the 49ers’ defense looked so vulnerable, and flaws were taken advantage of early on by Stidham, who connected best with, of course, Davante Adams (seven catches, 153 yards).
The 49ers didn’t come away without some lumps. Guard Aaron Banks (knee, ankle) and linebacker Dre Greenlaw (back) did not return from their injuries; MRI exams Monday will reveal how serious the injuries are, and Banks is suspected of having a sprained medial collateral ligament.
But the 49ers were able to rally from a 10-point second-half deficit like four other Raiders’ foes had done this season.
The 49ers reclaimed the lead with 6:44 to go, on a 24-yard field goal by Gould. It wasn’t the go-ahead touchdown they wanted, nor tried to get when Purdy threw a third-and-4 pass to George Kittle that nearly got intercepted. The 49ers got in Gould’s range on the first play of that drive, with a 42-yard catch-and-run screen by Ray-Ray McCloud to the Raiders’ 23-yard line.
The Raiders responded with their own field goal: a 57-yard shot by Daniel Carlson to make it a 27-27 tie with 4:08 to go, just after Bosa drilled Stidham on a third-down incompletion that was nearly intercepted. On the second snap of the fourth quarter, rookie Drake Jackson intercepted a pass deflected by fellow linemen Kerry Hyder Jr., and the 49ers converted that takeaway into a game-tying 43-yard field goal by Robbie Gould with 12:34 remaining.
The 49ers had pulled within 24-21 in the third quarter thanks to a great, four-play sequence: 1.) Jauan Jennings’ 18-yard catch; 2.) Ty Davis-Price’s second-effort, 5-yard run; 3.) Brandon Aiyuk’s 16-yard, end-around run; 4.) McCaffrey 14-yard touchdown run, putting him over 100 rushing yards for the game on his 15th carry.
On the 49ers’ next series, the crowd was chanting “Pur-dy! Pur-dy” after his 28-yard completion to Jennings at midfield. And then … Purdy missed an open Kittle and had the highly lofted ball got intercepted by Amik Robertson at the Vegas 18. It was Purdy’s third interception in five games.
Adams’ second touchdown catch put the 49ers in a stunning, 24-14 hole. On Adams’ 60-yard score, Stidham rolled left and unloaded the pass just before he took a vicious hit from safety Talanaoa Hufanga, who had abandoned Adams in coverage.
The 49ers’ top-ranked defense allowed the Raiders into the red zone on all four drives before halftime, and Adams’ 4-yard touchdown catch over Charvarius Ward gave the hosts a 17-14 lead with 10 seconds left in the half.
The 49ers trailed at halftime for the first time in seven games, and the fifth time all season. The previous four times came in consecutive games against the Falcons, the Chiefs, the Rams, and the Chargers, with the 49ers rallying to beat those latter two foes.
Stidham came out on fire in his first career start following Carr’s mid-week benching. Stidham completed 11 of 14 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, and he was just as crafty with his legs (five carries, 31 yards).
Only 4:29 remained until halftime when the 49ers’ defense best lived up to its top billing, producing a fourth-and-1 stop at the 2-yard line and preserving a 14-10 lead. Right after Dre Greenlaw ended a Stidham scramble at the 2-yard line, T.Y. McGill and Charles Omenihu stopped Josh Jacobs for no gain, and all seemed right again with the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
It took 20 minutes for the 49ers to seize the lead, and it came with some collateral damage, as they lost left guard Aaron Banks to a right-inee injury on their second possession. That go-ahead drive, however, ended with Purdy’s second touchdown pass of the game, this time beating a three-man pass rush to roll left and find Kittle with a 2-yard scoring strike. The 49ers held the ball 7 minutes for that 13-play, 75-yard drive, which was ignited by back-to-back pass-interference penalties, as well as key plays from McCaffrey and Kyle Juszczyk.
The Raiders were the first team all season to score against the 49ers on their first two drives, and they nearly scored touchdowns on both of them. Stidham’s 24-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead, and, on their next drive, they opted not to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1, instead settling for a 20-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead. Adams keyed the Raiders’ second scoring drive, first finding space for a 27-yard catch, and later drawing a pass-interference penalty on Charvarius Ward at the 49ers’ 5-yard line.
The 49ers matched the Raiders’ opening touchdown drive thanks to Purdy’s 2-yard scoring strike to Brandon Aiyuk. McCaffrey was a catalyst for that tying drive, opening with an 11-yard run, then bursting free for 37 yards to the 1-yard line, with both runs going through a cavern between right tackle Mike McGlinchey and right guard Spencer Burford.
It was stunning how quickly the 49ers staked the Raiders to a 7-0 lead, only 3 minutes, 20 seconds into the game via a six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Stidham opened with a 20-yard completion to tight end Foster Moreau. That series ended with another Stidham pass to another open tight end, Waller, for a 24-yard scoring strike and 7-0 lead. Stidham avoided a potential Bosa sack (and Miller avoided with a holding penalty), then found Waller on the right side past Hufanga’s blown coverage.
