Oakland Raiders play uninspired football, lose final Battle of the Bay

Three Stars

1. Nick Mullens

Who would’ve thought a third string quarterback in his first NFL debut would the best player under center, but that was the case Thursday night. Nick Mullens, wearing number 4 in red, proved to be better on the field as opposed to Derek Carr, number 4 in white. Even though he went up against the lackluster Oakland defense, kudos to Mullens for not being intimated by the prime time stage.

2. 49ers Pass Rush

Remember last week when the Raiders offensive line played an all-around solid game? It was the exact opposite against San Francisco where the 49ers pass rush had their way all game, sacking Carr for six times on the night. No matter how many times the Raiders looked to march downfield, any play with positive yardage was canceled out by Carr taking sack after sack. The Raiders offensive line did a complete 180 and regressed from last week’s performance.

3. 49ers Coaching

No matter how strong a performance Mullens put on display, what really needs to be applauded is the game plan orchestrated by Kyle Shanahan and the coaching staff that not only simplified the game for Nick Mullens, but ultimately exploited a despicable Raiders defense that was already poor. Special call-out to Paul Guenther: who was out coached by Robert Saleh’s defense and just might not return to Gruden’s staff next season.