LAS VEGAS — The 49ers defense played a game unlike the 49ers defense on New Year’s Day.
As defensive end Nick Bosa put it, the 49ers may have underestimated the Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham. The defense successfully played the game in a 37–34 overtime win.
Botha shoved Raiders left tackle Colton Miller into Stidham. Safety Tashawn Gipson intercepted the Wobbler and returned it 56 yards in overtime to set up Robbie Gould’s winning kick.
“I think it was a good game for us,” 49ers manager Kyle Shanahan said. .”
Here’s how the 49ers won Week 17:
rush offense
Running back Christian McCaffrey had quite the day, starting with a 37-yard run in a third-and-three situation on the opening drive of the game.
McCaffrey tallied 121 yards and scored a touchdown on 19 rushing attempts.
Rookie running back Jordan Mason gave the 49ers a 7-point lead and a 14-yard touchdown run to keep regulation at 2:17. As a team, the 49ers averaged 6.3 for 170 rushing yards.
School year: a
passing offense
The 49ers offensive line, especially right tackle Mike McGrinchee, did a good job of neutralizing Raiders defensive end Max Crosby. The Raiders registered no sacks in the game.
Purdy faced adversity and responded at the right time. Purdy completed his 22 of his 35 pass attempts for 284 yards with two touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 95.4.
49ers receiver Brandon Ayuk said of Purdy, who helped the 49ers recover from a 10-point second half deficit, “today showed this guy is on another level.”
Aiyuk had a big day with nine receptions for 101 yards and one touchdown. McCaffrey added six receptions for 72 yards.
George Kittle had four catches for 23 yards and one touchdown.
School year: a
rush defense
This is different from the 49ers defense being pushed around like this.
Las Vegas recorded 135 rushing yards in 32 rushing attempts. This was his second-most yards given up on the ground by the 49ers this season.
Josh Jacobs led the Raiders with 69 yards and scored a touchdown on 17 rushing attempts.
The 49ers best run defense came when TY McGill and Charles Omeniffe stopped Jacobs on a 4th down play near the goal line.
School year: C minus
pass defense
Gipson made the game-deciding play in extra time, with much help from Botha.
Up until that point, the 49ers defense hadn’t done much properly against Stidham, who completed 23 of 34 pass attempts for 365 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The 49ers had too much blown coverage. Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams had a big day for 153 yards as he tallied seven catches and his two touchdowns.
Another big play on defense was Drake Jackson’s interception of a deflected pass by Kelly Hider. Without the two interceptions, this would have failed.
School year: C minus
special team
Gould usually moves on auto, so it was a big surprise to see him go wide right on a 41-yard attempt at the end of regulation. His game winner he came from 23 yards out.
Mitch Wischnowski had only two punts in the game. His 37-yard punt helped the Raiders gain field position on a first-half touchdown drive.
The 49ers allowed no yards on kickoffs or punt returns.
School year: Ha
coaching
The 49ers offense has come a long way with a finely tuned game plan. Coach Kyle Shanahan’s play calling was particularly effective in the second half of the game, with his running and passing offense meshing.
We made too many mistakes on defense. Defensively his coordinator Demeko his Ryans has a lot to clean up this week. Among them was the team’s passing his rush, which sometimes scrambled Stidham’s big lanes.
School year: B minus
The entire
Either the 49ers defense was exposed and gave future opponents a blueprint, or it was a good learning experience San Francisco got just in time to fix a mistake ahead of the postseason.
RELATED: How Purdy Kept Level Head As 49ers Smashed Raiders
Choose what you like.
The 49ers’ nine-game win streak mirrored their 2019 win over the New Orleans Saints, showing that the offense could win the shootout when the defense struggled.
School year: B.
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