49ers finish preseason with 18-12 win over Raiders in field goal fest

The final game of the preseason wasn't exactly a thriller, but they were at least able to close out with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders with the help of kicker Eddy Pineiro.

In a battle of field goals, Pineiro out-dueled Raiders kicker Matt Gay, connecting on all six of his attempts while Gay finished 4-of-5. Pineiro's final kicks came with less than two minutes left in the game and were enough to send the 49ers home from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas with an 18-12 win.

The Raiders played their starters early in the game, led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, who finished with 51 yards on 8-of-11 passing on two possessions. The 49ers played mostly backups and started Mac Jones at quarterback, who finished with seven yards on 1-of-5 passing, then went with Adrian Martinez for the remainder of the game while the Raiders gave the bulk of the snaps to rookie Fernando Mendoza. Martinez finished with 130 yards on 12-of-21 passing, while Mendoza connected on 7-of-14 passes for 57 yards with one interception.

49ers avoid falling far behind against Raiders' starters in first half

The Raiders opened the game by marching 46 yards in 12 plays, with 35 of those yards coming on 4-of-5 passing from Cousins. But the 49ers halted the drive inside the 20 and forced the Raiders to settle for a 37-yard field goal from Gay to take a 3-0 lead.

A three-and-out followed the field goal, then the Raiders extended their lead to 6-0 on a 53-yard field goal by Gay. Their second possession lasted 10 plays and stretched 45 yards before defensive back Siran Neal stepped in front of wide receiver Jalen Nailor to bat away a third-down pass with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The 49ers moved 18 yards on five plays on their second possession, which included an eight-yard run by running back Kaelon Black and a 7-yard completion to tight end Brayden Willis. The Raiders took over at their own 15-yard line after the punt and began moving their starters, inserting Mendoza at quarterback. Mendoza's first series didn't last long, however, as he was picked off at the 38-yard line on the second play of the possession by linebacker Tatum Bethune, who returned the ball 16 yards to give the 49ers possession at the Raiders' 22-yard line.

Martinez entered the game at quarterback for the 49ers on the next possession, which opened with a 14-yard run by Black to the 8-yard line. A false start penalty on the next snap moved the 49ers back to the 13, then the 49ers moved to the 5-yard line on a 3-yard run by Black and a 5-yard completion to wide receiver Jordan Watkins. They chose to settle for a 24-yard Pineiro field goal after a third-down incompletion, cutting the lead to 6-3 early in the second quarter.

Mendoza's next possession lasted only three plays, coming to an end on a third-down sack by defensive end Keion White for an 11-yard loss. The 49ers followed with a three-and-out, then the Raiders started the ensuing possession with a first down before the pressure got to Mendoza again, this time on a sack for a 9-yard loss by defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo. The sack put the Raiders in a hole that eventually led to another punt, giving the 49ers the ball at their own 16.

Martinez led the 49ers on an 11-play, 78-yard drive on the next possession that included a 19-yard completion to Watkins, a 20-yard completion to running back Jordan James, and a 10-yard fourth-down completion to tight end Hayden Rucci. But the drive fizzled inside the 20 and wound up ending in another Pineiro field goal, this one from 25 yards to tie the game at 6.

The Raiders took over at their own 28-yard line with 1:31 remaining in the half and moved into field goal range with 30 seconds to play due in part to a 19-yard pass interference call on Neal. The drive stalled after that and concluded with a 45-yard field goal from Gay as time expired, giving the Raiders a 9-6 lead at the break. The Raiders finished the half with a time-of-possession edge of over eight minutes (19:03 to 10:57), but the overall yardage number broke nearly even (139 to 133 for the Raiders), with the 49ers holding a 91-70 edge on the ground.

49ers win the field goal battle -- and the game-- in the second half

The 49ers opened the third quarter with a three-and-out, then the Raiders put together a 15-play, 51-yard drive that ended when Gay sent a 54-yard field goal attempt wide left. The 49ers began the next drive at their own 44-yard line and appeared to have a touchdown when Rucci took a pass from Martinez at the Raiders' 9-yard line and rumbled into the end zone. But a 15-yard penalty for a low block on running back Jordan James nullified the play and pushed the 49ers back to the 29-yard line. The drive ended at the 30-yard line, where Pineiro connected from 48 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 9.

The Raiders punted after five plays on the next possession, then the 49ers took over at their own 20-yard line and moved across the 50 in five plays. Their drive stalled after that and led to a 59-yard field goal attempt from Pineiro at the 40-yard line, which he sent through the uprights to give the 49ers a 12-9 lead with just over nine minutes left in the game.

Aidan O'Connell entered the game at quarterback for the Raiders on their next possession and quickly moved into 49ers' territory with the help of a 19-yard completion to wide receiver Shedrick Jackson and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Siran Neal. But once again, the Raiders were unable to move beyond field goal range and had to bring Gay out for a 48-yard attempt, which he connected on to tie the game at 12 with 7:38 remaining.

An illegal block on the ensuing kickoff put the 49ers at their own 17-yard line to begin the next drive, then they moved backward on a 7-yard loss on a pass to running back Khalil Herbert on the first play. But Herbert rebounded with runs of 16 and 7 yards to give the 49ers a first down, then a 21-yard catch by Watkins sent the 49ers across midfield. An 11-yard completion to Herbert on 3rd-and-9 followed by two runs for two yards by running back Sincere McCormick put the 49ers at the 33-yard line at the two-minute warning, then an incompletion on third down led to Pineiro attempting his fifth field goal of the night, this one from 51 yards. Pineiro connected to give the 49ers a 15-12 lead with 1:51 remaining in the game.

The 49ers held the Raiders to a turnover on downs after the fifth field goal, then couldn't quite run out the clock after taking over at the Raiders' 37. Pineiro connected from 54 yards to open up an 18-12 lead with eight seconds left in the game, which wasn't enough for the Raiders to add anything else to the scoreboard. The win gave the 49ers a 2-1 record in the preseason, while the Raiders finished at 1-2.

Game Notes

Tonight's offensive starters for the 49ers included Jones, Black, Watkins, WR Malik Turner, Willis, LT Enrique Cruz, LG Carver Willis, C Drake Nugent, RG Connor Colby, and RT Brandon Parker. Defensive starters included White and Okoronkwo at DE; DTs Alfred Collins and CJ West; LBs Jaden Dugger, Jalen Graham, and Bethune; CBs Jack Jones and Darrell Luter; and safeties Ashtyn Davis and Jalen Stroman... The 49ers will now need to trim their roster to 53 by the league-wide deadline of Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. Keep posted to 49ers Webzone in the days ahead for updates... The 49ers will begin their regular season schedule two weeks from today on Thursday, September 10 with a game in Melbourne, Australia against the Los Angeles Rams. The game will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and will air on Netflix with a kickoff time of 8:35 p.m. ET/5:35 p.m. PT. (Local kickoff time and date is 10:35 a.m. on Friday, September 11).

Scoring Summary

• Q1 08:47 — SF 0, LV 3
  M. Gay 37 yd. Field Goal (12 plays, 46 yds, 6:18)
• Q1 02:50 — SF 0, LV 6
  M. Gay 53 yd. Field Goal (10 plays, 45 yds, 4:56)
• Q2 13:41 — SF 3, LV 6
  E. Pineiro 24 yd. Field Goal (5 plays, 17 yds, 1:26)
• Q2 01:40 — SF 6, LV 6
  E. Pineiro 25 yd. Field Goal (11 plays, 78 yds, 4:42)
• Q2 00:05 — SF 6, LV 9
  M. Gay 45 yd. Field Goal (6 plays, 45 yds, 1:38)
• Q3 00:33 — SF 9, LV 9
  E. Pineiro 48 yd. Field Goal (10 plays, 26 yds, 5:04)
• Q4 09:09 — SF 12, LV 9
  E. Pineiro 59 yd. Field Goal (10 plays, 40 yds, 4:36)
• Q4 07:43 — SF 12, LV 12
  M. Gay 48 yd. Field Goal (5 plays, 39 yds, 1:26)
• Q4 01:56 — SF 15, LV 12
  E. Pineiro 51 yd. Field Goal (12 plays, 50 yds, 5:47)
• Q4 00:13 — SF 18, LV 12
  E. Pineiro 54 yd. Field Goal (4 plays, 2 yds, 1:04)

Game and Player Stats