Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

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--


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.



LISTEN

Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News



Titans expected to sign former 49ers LB Azeez Al-Shaair

By David Bonilla
Mar 14

According to ESPN's Dianna Russini, the Tennessee Titans are expected to sign former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, an unrestricted free agent. The Titans are expected to sign former 49er Azeez Al-Shaair, per source— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) March 14, 2023 "I want him to go be



Titans are signing former 49ers OL Daniel Brunskill

By David Bonilla
Mar 14

The Tennessee Titans are signing former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. Brunskill is an unrestricted free agent. He becomes the second 49ers free agency today with which the Titans have agreed to terms. The team is also bringing in linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. The #Titans are expected to sign former



49ers restructure Fred Warner's contract, create $9.5 million in salary cap space

By David Bonilla
Mar 14

The San Francisco 49ers made another move to add salary-cap space. On the same day the team restructured cornerback Charvarius Ward's deal, it restructured linebacker Fred Warner's. ESPN's Field Yates was the first to report the news. The move creates $9.5 million in salary cap space for the Bay Area team. Paired with Ward's restructuring, the 49ers created nearly $20 million of additional cap space. The 49ers restructured the contract of LB Fred Warner, creating $9.5M in cap space, per source.More



Details emerge on LB Fred Warner's restructured deal with 49ers

By David Bonilla
Mar 15

On Tuesday, the San Francisco 49ers created $9.5 million in salary cap space by restructuring the contract of linebacker Fred Warner. The deal remains a five-year one worth $95.225 million, and the player remains signed through the 2026 season. However, much of Warner's 2023 base salary has been converted to a signing bonus, paying him that amount immediately but allowing the 49ers to spread the salary-cap impact of the amount throughout the length of the contract. In Warner's case, the impact of the signing bonus will go beyond 2026, as the 49ers added a void year in 2027. Warner's 2023 salary cap number reduces from about $18.5 million to $9.049


Featured

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone