Garoppolo, Lance, 49ers running backs steamroll Raiders 34-10 to close the preseason

The San Francisco 49ers got the tune up they were looking for in Sunday's preseason finale, dusting the Las Vegas Raiders 34-10 in front of a home crowd at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.

Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance combined for 10 of 20 passing for 110 yards and two rushing touchdowns for the 49ers, who ran for 242 yards on 48 carries as a team with four total touchdowns. Garoppolo and Lance shuffled in and out of the game during the first half, with Lance eventually taking over for Garoppolo in the second quarter.

The 49ers jumped out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back while giving many of their starters some playing time in preparation for the regular season. The Raiders, on the other hand, were shorthanded in the game due to head coach Jon Gruden electing not to play a significant number of key players.

As It Happened - First Half

After holding the Raiders to a three-and-out on the game's opening possession, the 49ers took over on offense and gave the Raiders a heavy dose of running back Raheem Mostert, who was making his lone appearance of the preseason. Mostert ran for 53 yards on seven carries behind the first-team offensive line during the drive, which featured the rotation of Garoppolo and Lance at quarterback against a Raiders lineup dominated by second- and third-teamers. Garoppolo finished the drive on the tenth play of the possession by barreling into the end zone head-first to give the 49ers a 7-0 lead.

The 49ers offense got back on the field in a hurry after a Raiders punt and continued shuffling quarterbacks, with Garoppolo leading the charge this time through the air. Garoppolo completed three passes for 50 yards on what would become a 14-play, 75-yard drive, while running back Trey Sermon chipped in five carries for 24 yards before Lance capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run.

The Raiders cut the lead to 14-3 on the next possession on an 11-play, 50-yard drive that resulted in a 51-yard field goal from kicker Daniel Carlson. The key play of the drive was a 27-yard pass to wide receiver Dillon Stoner from quarterback Nathan Peterman, who got the start in place of usual starter Derek Carr.

Lance took over at quarterback on the next possession with Garoppolo done for the day, but the 49ers were held to a three-and-out and punted the ball back to the Raiders, who began the following series on their own 6-yard line. The 49ers responded on defense by forcing a three-and-out of their own, then took over on the 50-yard line after a 16-yard punt return by Travis Benjamin.

The 49ers then put together an 11-play, 47-yard drive that resulted in a 21-yard field goal from Robbie Gould to extend the lead to 17-3 with 1:36 remaining in the half. Lance completed two passes on the drive but also had two passes dropped, including a third-down pass near the goal line that was intended for wide receiver Jauan Jennings. Sermon and fellow rookie running back Elijah Mitchell also chipped in 29 total rushing yards on the drive.

A three-and-out from the Raiders on the next possession gave Lance one more opportunity before halftime with 1:06 remaining. Lance and the 49ers took over at their own 26-yard line, then quickly moved into Raiders' territory after a 15-yard completion to Jennings followed by a defensive pass interference penalty that moved the ball across midfield. Lance kept the drive going four plays later when he ran for a first down on a fourth-and-three, then the 49ers found themselves on the Raiders' 1-yard line with six seconds in the half after a defensive pass interference call in the end zone. But the 49ers were unable to get the ball across the goal line and had to settle for a 19-yard field goal from Gould with two seconds to play to stretch their lead to 20-3 at the half.

Second Half

The 49ers began the second half with possession while Lance remained in the game at quarterback. Lance's first pass of the half was dropped by Jalen Hurd on first down, then after a run by Mitchell, a third-down pass from Lance sailed over the arms of Jennings, which forced the 49ers to punt.

After a 63-yard punt from Mitch Wishnowsky pinned the Raiders at their own 5-yard line, the Raiders put together a five-play possession that ended in a punt that gave the 49ers the ball at their own 43. Nate Sudfeld took over for Lance at quarterback but was unable to get anything going on his first series, and the 49ers wound up punting the ball back to the Raiders after three plays.

The Raiders followed with their best drive of the game, a 10-play, 80-yard possession that finished with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Peterman to tight end Nick Bowers. The point after from Carlson brought the Raiders to within 20-10 with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter.

The 49ers answered in a hurry after being sparked by a 44-yard kick return from Mitchell. Two plays after a 23-yard completion from Sudfeld to wide receiver River Cracraft put the 49ers in Raiders territory, running back JaMycal Hasty ran into the end zone from 35 yards out to give the 49ers a 27-10 lead.

The highlights kept coming for the 49ers, as Peterman was intercepted by safety Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix on the second play of the next series to give the ball back to the 49ers after a 36-yard return to the Raiders' 11-yard line. Hasty scored again two plays later from three yards out to stretch the 49ers' lead to 34-10.

The teams traded three punts (including a 75-yard punt from Wishnowsky) following Hasty's second touchdown, then the 49ers got the running game going again behind Hasty and Wayne Gallman later in the fourth quarter. The 49ers took possession with 8:36 remaining in the game, then milked almost all of it during a 12-play run-only drive from Hasty and Gallman before turning over the ball on downs near the goal line with under 30 seconds to play. The Raiders ran out the clock from there to bring the game to a close.

The 49ers outgained the Raiders 375 to 212 on the day while holding a 26-12 advantage in third downs. Gallman finished with 13 carries for 60 yards while Hasty chipped in six carries for 55 yards and two touchdowns, with Sermon rushing for 37 yards on seven carries and Mitchell rushing for 24 yards on six carries. The 49ers caught 11 passes on the day for 133 yards, with Hurd catching four of those for 25 yards. Peterman went the distance for the Raiders at quarterback and finished 18-of-29 for 175 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The 49ers will be back in action on September 12 when they face the Lions at Ford Field in Detroit in the regular season opener (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT). The 49ers will need to decide which players make their initial 53-man roster by Tuesday's league wide deadline at 4 p.m. ET.

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