Sunday's game between the Las Vegas Raiders and San Francisco 49ers won't be short on emotion.
These two teams are bitter rivals from their days sharing the same geographic region, and the Silver and Black will be making their much-anticipated return to the Bay Area in Week 9. In a game like this, honestly, you can throw out the records to an extent.
But one record we'll be looking at in this article is the all-time series record between these two iconic franchises. The Raiders have always repped "The Town," while the 49ers were from "the city," and for that, and due to their five Super Bowl trophies, they've always looked down on Oakland and this team.
However, if Klint Kubiak's team can pull off a win against Kyle Shanahan's squad, both organizations will hold eight wins over the other in a rivalry that dates back to 1970. Let's examine all those matchups, including a signature Raiders moment and what happened the last time around.
49ers lead Raiders 8-7 in all-time series
The Raiders and 49ers first faced off in 1970, before email was invented or the first CT scan had taken place. Heck, the world didn't even have quarter-pounders or Cup Noodles. But these two franchises were going at it on the gridiron nonetheless.
And San Francisco dominated Oakland in the first contest between the two, but the Raiders responded with three straight wins and came out on top of six of the next eight. Unfortunately, the team has won just a single game against the 49ers in their last six matchups.
That's one win since 2000, with the last one coming in 2014.
Since 1946, the 49ers have called San Francisco home, but as we know, the Raiders have moved around a bit. In their first Oakland stint, they went 2-1 against the 49ers. In Los Angeles, they went 3-2. In Oakland volume II, the Raiders went 2-4. They're 0-1 as dwellers of Las Vegas.
But this has always been a heated rivalry, with three of the last seven matchups going into overtime, and really only a handful of them being blowouts. The 49ers have the Raiders outmatched on Sunday, but anything can happen in the Battle of the Bay.
Signature moment: Jon Gruden's Raiders beat Steve Mariucci's 49ers in OT at 3com Stadium, 2000
Jon Gruden and Steve Mariucci were famous members of the 1992 Packers staff after Mike Holmgren (as was Andy Reid), and if you knew one thing about Gruden, he loved talking some smack and beating his old friends or colleagues. And the Raiders did just that at the turn of the century.
In Week 6 of the 2000 NFL season, the 49ers welcomed the Raiders into Candlestick Park for a Sunday afternoon matchup, and this game was full of fireworks.
Rookie Sebastian Janikowski got the scoring going for the Raiders as he made two field goals to put Oakland up 6-0. But a pair of receiving touchdowns from Jeff Garcia to Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice put the 49ers up 14-6.
The Raiders responded in the third quarter, as Tyrone Wheatley scored a rushing touchdown and Rich Gannon ran in a two-point conversion to tie the game up. Then, Gannon found Tim Brown for a 30-yard touchdown to take a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Oakland expanded on that lead with a Gannon rushing touchdown, and this one looked out of reach. But Owens struck again with a jaw-dropping touchdown, and Charlie Garner also caught one for the 49ers to tie the game up.
When overtime started, the Raiders marched down the field, but Janikowski missed a 35-yarder. The game felt over. But the 49ers set up for the game-winning field goal and Anthony Dorsett blocked it for Oakland. With the ball back, Gannon found Brown for a 31-yard game-winning touchdown.
Game over.
(Click here to watch some highlights of this classic game).
Last time around: Jarrett Stidham takes 49ers down to the wire
The Raiders had just lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15. Derek Carr was benched by Josh McDaniels, ending his time with the Silver and Black. Enter Jarrett Stidham, the backup, who was set to face an 11-4 49ers team on an eight-game winning streak.
This felt like a blowout waiting to happen.
But Stiddy kept this one close, thanks to his 365 passing yards and three touchdowns. And he wasted no time getting himself established, as he found Darren Waller for a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter on the opening drive.
San Francisco responded with a Brock Purdy to Brandon Aiyuk touchdown, but before the opening stanza was done, the Raiders got back on the board with a Daniel Carlson field goal. Las Vegas led 10-7.
In the back-and-forth nature of this game, of course, the 49ers found George Kittle for a touchdown in the second period, and then Stidham found Davante Adams for one. The Raiders were back on top, 17-14, at halftime.
And McDaniels' team came out like gangbusters in the third quarter, as Stidham launched a 60-yard touchdown to Davante Adams to take a 24-14 lead. Then, things shifted massively in San Francisco's favor at Allegiant Stadium.
Christian McCaffrey found the end zone, and Robbie Gould made two field goals to put the 49ers up 27-24. A Daniel Carlson field goal tied it up, but Jordan Mason ran for a touchdown with just over two minutes left to give San Francisco a seven-point lead.
Stidham needed a successful two-minute drill to send this to overtime, and he accomplished that. Two big completions and a pass interference penalty set the Raiders up on the 1-yard line, and they punched it in for a score to survive into the extra period.
However, Stidham threw an interception on the first possession, which was run back 56 yards. The 49ers sailed a kick through the uprights and came out with a 37-34 win. It was quite the upset bid from the Raiders, who were playing for pride, but the 49ers wouldn't lose until the NFC Championship.
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