Las Vegas Raiders close out preseason with loss to the San Francisco 49ers
By Brad Weiss
The Las Vegas Raiders went with mostly reserves against the San Francisco 49ers to close out the preseason, and it was evident throughout.
Going into their matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, the Las Vegas Raiders were the underdog, and rightfully so. San Francisco had planned to play their starters against the Silver and Black, and with Las Vegas not doing the same, it would be the first-team of the 49ers against the Raiders’ second and third-team guys.
What ensued was a dominant effort by the 49ers early on, as they rotated their quarterbacks, getting Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance reps with the starting offense. Both quarterbacks ran in a score early on, building a 20-3 halftime lead, with the only Las Vegas points coming on the strength of a 51-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson.
In the second half, the Raiders got into the end zone, as Nathan Peterman found Nick Bowers in the end zone, but for the most part, this one was all San Francisco.
Raiders close out their preseason at 2-1
With the loss, the Raiders finished out the preseason at 2-1, playing all three of their games against the NFC West. They won their only home game inside Allegiant Stadium and will return home for their regular-season opener when they face a perennial playoff contender in the Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore has had issues with the injury bug this summer, as Marquise Brown was injured, and star running back J.K. Dobbins tore up his knee and will miss the entire 2021 campaign. Getting out to a strong start will be crucial for the Raiders, who host the Ravens, but then go to Pittsburgh on a short week to take on the Steelers.
There was a lot to like about the team this preseason, and now comes the time when they get the roster set for the 2021 campaign, something that needs to be done Tuesday. We did not see a lot of stars this summer, including quarterback Derek Carr, so the hope is that they will be ready to take on the Ravens in Week 1.