The Raiders left San Francisco with more than a 38-17 loss. They also walked into the next phase of their season.
Five second-half turnovers buried Las Vegas at Levi’s Stadium, turning a competitive game into a mess the Raiders created themselves. Kirk Cousins threw a pick-six on the first play after halftime, Brock Bowers coughed it up after a defensive takeaway, Michael Mayer lost the ball at the goal line, and Cousins added two more interceptions late. The Raiders never got back on their feet.
That collapse came with a roster shakeup attached. Cousins is now gone, traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 third-round pick. Fernando Mendoza is set to make his first start of the season this week against the Seattle Seahawks, and the change at quarterback arrives right on schedule whether Las Vegas wanted it or not.
Bowers was still the bright spot on offense. He caught seven passes for 111 yards and a 21-yard touchdown that briefly trimmed the margin to 28-17.
No. 89 kept doing what he’s done all season: separate in the middle, win contested balls and turn ordinary throws into real gains. Even in a game where the Raiders kept giving possessions away, he produced.
The problem was the one mistake that came after a huge defensive play. Treydan Stukes picked off Brock Purdy and gave the Raiders the ball near midfield, but Bowers lost a short catch, and the 49ers recovered.
A chance to keep momentum flipped right back the other way. It was the kind of turnover that stings twice as hard because it followed a takeaway.
Special teams gave Las Vegas something to hang onto. Dylan Laube has become a real weapon as a return man, and he showed it again against San Francisco.
A week after taking a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against the Jets, he averaged more than 28 yards per return and ripped off a 54-yarder. That return pushed the Raiders into opposing territory and set up a short field.
That kind of burst matters for a team that has had trouble moving the ball. The coverage units held up, and Laube’s work in the return game has given the Raiders a spark they’ve been missing. On a day when the offense turned it over five times and the run game managed only 24 yards, special teams was one of the few areas that didn’t make things worse.
The bigger picture is hard to ignore. Las Vegas is 4-5 and has lost five of its last six.
The defense forced a turnover and stopped a fourth-down sneak, and the offense answered with a touchdown. Then the mistakes piled up, and the game slipped away.
That has been the theme too often.
Now the quarterback room looks different, and the schedule doesn’t offer much breathing room. Mendoza’s first start comes against a Seahawks defense that is one of the better units in the league, and Denver is waiting the following week.
It’s a rough introduction for a rookie who has spent most of the year on the sideline. He has the arm talent and the size, but he hasn’t yet had to deal with a full NFL defense built to stop him.
The supporting cast stays the same. Bowers is still the primary target.
The run game still hasn’t shown up. The offensive line is still getting used to the scheme.
Special teams can still swing field position. What changes now is the margin for error, because a rookie has less room to survive the kind of mistakes that buried the Raiders in San Francisco.
Cousins’ run in Las Vegas is over, and the trade back to Minnesota brings back a 2027 third-round pick. The bridge job is done, and the team has moved on to Mendoza.
What happens next will say plenty about where this thing stands. Seattle and Denver will test him immediately, and the Raiders will find out quickly whether the young quarterback can handle the speed, the pressure and the mistakes that come with starting in this league.
In Other News...
Raiders Rookies Are Suddenly Creating A Real Roster Debate
The Raiders rookie class has started to shape the conversation around the back end of the roster, and not just because of the usual growing pains. In the wake of a loss to the 49ers and a win over the Jets, the first-year group has produced a mix of encouraging flashes and uneven production, with some young players drawing strong marks for how they handled their opportunities while others struggled to make the same kind of case.
Treydan Stukes and Jermod McCoy stood out on the positive side of the ledger, giving Las Vegas something to think about as it sorts out who deserves more run down the stretch. On the other end, Mike Washington Jr. and Zeke Masses did not help their standing, and with a few rookies either inactive or on injured reserve, the Raiders are left weighing not just who has played well, but who is actually forcing the issue when the team starts making tougher decisions. [Read more 🡒]
Fernando Mendoza Enters A New Raiders Role With Huge Expectations
Fernando Mendoza has stepped into a new role for the Raiders with the kind of attention that comes with being handed the offense in-season. After Kirk Cousins was moved out of the picture, Mendoza took over as Las Vegas starting quarterback and has already gone through his first full practice in the job, a key early test as he settles into the routine that now comes with leading the huddle.
Mendoza has also made clear he appreciated the time he spent alongside Cousins, crediting the veteran for his support during their overlap. Now the focus shifts quickly to game week and a matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, where the Raiders will get their first real look at how Mendoza handles the pressure and pace of being the guy. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Put Fernando Mendoza In A Spot That Will Test Everything
The Raiders are handing Fernando Mendoza his first NFL start in a spot that arrives with immediate pressure attached. After sending Kirk Cousins to Minnesota ahead of the trade deadline, Las Vegas is turning to the rookie and asking him to step into the job without changing the identity of the offense, even as the challenge gets significantly steeper.
Head coach Klint Kubiak said the Raiders will stick with their offensive approach with Mendoza under center, which says plenty about how they want to handle the transition. It also sets up a revealing first test for the rookie, because the team is not easing him in with a scaled-back plan, and the matchup waiting for him should tell a lot about how ready he is for the speed and demands of the league. [Read more 🡒]