| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Tot | |
| OAK | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| SF | 7 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 34 |
The San Francisco 49ers managed to take advantage of a woeful Oakland Raiders defense in Week 9 on Thursday Night Football, getting improbable efforts from fill-in quarterback Nick Mullens in the process.
Don't look now, but San Francisco 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens owns a 1-0 career record in the NFL.
This, after Mullens and the Niners upended the visiting Oakland Raiders 34-3 in Week 9 on Thursday Night Football, ending San Francisco's lengthy losing streak dating back to Week 2 and now putting the team at 2-7, which sure sounds a lot better than 1-8 would have.
Mullens, who was announced as the starter in place of an injured C.J. Beathard (wrist) just hours before the game, got off to a hot start in the first quarter, connecting with wide receiver Pierre Garçon for a 24-yard touchdown after the Raiders took a brief 3-0 lead in the first quarter:
First @NFL TD pass for @NickMullens ✔️
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 2, 2018
First #49ers TD catch for @PierreGarcon ✔️#OAKvsSF x #GoNiners pic.twitter.com/12ShEIhPcA
OK, pretty impressive early. But Mullens wasn't done. Later in the first half, he connected with wide receiver Kendrick Bourne on a 4-yard score, which put the 49ers up 14-3 at the time. And Mullens still wasn't finished.
Granted, the ease with which Mullens and San Francisco's offense moved the ball in Week 9 has to be taken with a small grain of salt, especially noting how the Raiders entered the contest with a defense allowing more yards on the ground (1,013) than any other team and the highest average pass yards against (8.3).
Still, Mullens' ability to get rid of the ball quickly, albeit against an inept Raiders pass rush, was impressive to watch. He was decisive, in command of the offense for the entirety of the game.
What was arguably more impressive, however, was a 71-yard pass in the third quarter to tight end George Kittle, which threaded a needle between four Oakland defenders:
George Kittle is a freaking superhero pic.twitter.com/Iagh4qOiID
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) November 2, 2018
Kittle scored on the drive.
Running back Raheem Mostert ended up leading all San Francisco runners on the game, capping off his 86-yard effort with a 51-yard scamper behind right tackle Mike McGlinchey:
#49ers rookie Mike McGlinchey ran 51 yards downfield to make sure Raheem Mostert found the end zone. #OAKvsSF pic.twitter.com/Gstf61WCX7
— Rob Lowder (@Rob_Lowder) November 2, 2018
Mostert suffered a broken forearm later in the game, while fellow tailback Matt Breida added 44 yards of his own during the contest.
Speaking to the media, head coach Kyle Shanahan all but confirmed Mostert would be done for the season.
"I would assume so with a broken arm," Shanahan said when asked of it was a season-ending injury.
It's a shame, as the former special teams-only ace had come on as a legitimate offensive threat in Shanahan's rushing attack.
Overall, San Francisco's offense produced 406 all-purpose yards, with Mullens accounting for 260 of them with 16-of-22 passing, three touchdowns against zero interceptions and an overall passer rating of 151.9.
Not bad for a first-ever NFL regular-season appearance. Not bad at all.
Lost in all the Mullens hype is how well the 49ers defense played. With all the woes the Raiders have in 2018, their offense has actually held up well enough, entering the game ranked 17th in total yardage. They've been able to move the ball against bad defenses, but San Francisco managed to put a stop to that.
Despite being without linebacker Reuben Foster (hamstring) and safety Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder), the Niners allowed just the three points and only 248 yards, sacking Oakland quarterback Derek Carr and his backup, A.J. McCarron, a combined seven times on the night.
The 49ers had only 16 sacks entering Week 9.
Linebacker Fred Warner led the defense with seven tackles, while EDGE Cassius Marsh had 2.5 of those seven sacks.
Still, it's impossible to take the game ball away from Mullens, who'll certainly remember tonight for the rest of his life. And while he might not be taking over for Beathard anytime soon (let's not get too far ahead of ourselves), it was certainly a pleasant surprise to see that kind of performance under center after weeks of the not-so pleasant.
| OAK | Team Stats | SF |
| 14 | First Downs | 18 |
| 242 | Total Yards | 405 |
| 140 | Pass Yards | 262 |
| 102 | Rush Yards | 143 |
| 6 (40) | Penalties (Yds) | 3 (23) |
| 0 | Turnovers | 0 |
| 6 (37) | Punts (Avg) | 3 (48) |
| 31:26 | Time of Pos. | 28:34 |
| Raiders Player Stats | ||||
| Passing | Cmp/Att | Yds | TDs | INTs |
| D. Carr | 16/21 | 171 | 0 | 0 |
| A. McCarron | 1/3 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Rushing | Att | Yds | TDs | Lg |
| D. Martin | 11 | 49 | 0 | 10 |
| D. Washington | 5 | 27 | 0 | 13 |
| M. Bryant | 1 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| D. Carr | 3 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| J. Richard | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| A. McCarron | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Receiving | Rec | Yds | TDs | Lg |
| J. Richard | 4 | 45 | 0 | 25 |
| B. LaFell | 3 | 20 | 0 | 14 |
| M. Bryant | 2 | 29 | 0 | 23 |
| J. Cook | 2 | 20 | 0 | 11 |
| J. Nelson | 2 | 16 | 0 | 10 |
| D. Martin | 1 | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| D. Harris | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| D. Carrier | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| S. Roberts | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Fumbles | Fum | Lost | Rec | Yds |
| A. McCarron | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| D. Carr | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G. Jackson | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kicking | FG | Lg | XP | Pts |
| D. Carlson | 1/2 | 37 | 0/0 | 3 |
| Punting | No | Avg | I20 | Lg |
| J. Townsend | 6 | 37.5 | 2 | 48 |
| Kickoff Returns | No | Avg | TDs | Lg |
| D. Harris | 2 | 25 | 0 | 28 |
| Defense | T-A | Sck | INTs | FF |
| T. Whitehead | 6-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Nelson | 4-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Hankins | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Cabinda | 2-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Worley | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Hurst | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. McDonald | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Harris | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Hall | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Gilchrist | 2-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F. Rucker | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G. Conley | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Lamur | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Lee | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| F. Brown | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| N. Morrow | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Joseph | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49ers Player Stats | ||||
| Passing | Cmp/Att | Yds | TDs | INTs |
| N. Mullens | 16/22 | 262 | 3 | 0 |
| Rushing | Att | Yds | TDs | Lg |
| R. Mostert | 7 | 86 | 1 | 52 |
| M. Breida | 12 | 44 | 0 | 18 |
| A. Morris | 7 | 13 | 0 | 11 |
| M. Goodwin | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| K. Juszczyk | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| N. Mullens | 4 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| Receiving | Rec | Yds | TDs | Lg |
| G. Kittle | 4 | 108 | 1 | 71 |
| P. Garçon | 3 | 56 | 1 | 25 |
| R. James | 2 | 60 | 0 | 53 |
| K. Juszczyk | 2 | 10 | 0 | 6 |
| K. Bourne | 2 | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| M. Goodwin | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| R. Dwelley | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| M. Breida | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Fumbles | Fum | Lost | Rec | Yds |
| N. Mullens | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2 |
| M. Breida | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kicking | FG | Lg | XP | Pts |
| R. Gould | 2/2 | 39 | 4/4 | 10 |
| Punting | No | Avg | I20 | Lg |
| B. Pinion | 3 | 54.7 | 1 | 64 |
| Punt Returns | No | Avg | TDs | Lg |
| R. James | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| D. Pettis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defense | T-A | Sck | INTs | FF |
| F. Warner | 7-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Marsh | 3-1 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Thomas | 3-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Ward | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Powell | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Williams | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Sherman | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Watson | 2-1 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Nzeocha | 2-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Buckner | 2-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Smith | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Harris | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Armstead | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Lee | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Blair | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Day | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Mitchell | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Witherspoon | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
