The 49ers are still sitting on top of the NFC, and they got there by turning a once-close game into a rout.
San Francisco beat the Las Vegas Raiders 38-17 to reach the halfway point of the season, and for a brief stretch it had the feel of one of those familiar 49ers afternoons where they let a game linger before taking over. Then a bad snap cracked it open, and Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins set off the second half with this:
From there, San Francisco took control and didn’t let go. The Raiders added another touchdown, but the 49ers never looked like they were in danger of coughing up the lead.
The win moved them to the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a half-game ahead of the Minnesota Vikings at 6-1. They also remain 2.5 games clear of the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC West.
It wasn’t a clean afternoon, though. Defensive tackle Gracen Halton broke his ankle and is out for the season, and cornerback Renardo Green left with a back injury. Just when the pieces start coming back…
Seattle and Arizona gave the division another one of those gritty, ugly NFC West games, and this one didn’t deliver much in the way of fireworks.
The Cardinals’ Gardner Minshew II had just pulled off the comeback of the week in Dallas, throwing three fourth-quarter touchdown passes after entering with 1:35 left in the third quarter and Arizona down 17-3. This time, the script stopped cold.
The Cardinals were in the same 17-3 hole, but there was no late surge, no overtime drama, and not even a touchdown. They finished with three points.
That may be the end of Minshew Magic, Minshew Mania, or whatever label fits when he’s actually putting points on the board.
Seattle had its own mess to sort through. Sam Darnold was not suited up because of injury, so Drew Lock handled the offense even though he was dealing with an elbow injury that had kept him inactive the previous two weeks and a hip issue that surfaced in the third quarter. The Seahawks still found a way to win despite an offense that managed only 17 points against an Arizona team with plenty of problems of its own.
Lock didn’t give the ball away and finished 19-of-28 for 175 yards and a touchdown. Minshew went 21-of-30 for 166 yards with no touchdowns and was sacked three times. Tyler Allgeier, who ran for 147 yards in Dallas, was held to 46 yards on 17 carries.
The game was as choppy as it sounds, with 180 yards of penalties between the two teams. That’s NFC West football for you.
The Rams also won, and they did it with defense carrying the load while the offense mostly stayed stuck.
Myles Garrett finally made his presence felt. In his debut against the 49ers in Melbourne, the defensive end didn’t record a tackle.
Two months later, after coming off injured reserve, he wrecked the Washington Commanders with three sacks and a forced fumble in a 20-13 Rams win. Los Angeles needed every bit of that because the offense spent most of the afternoon grinding through mud.
Puka Nacua was the whole passing game. He caught 14 of 19 targets for 150 yards and a touchdown, and no other Rams receiver topped 20 yards.
The concern now is Nacua’s knee, which he hurt on the final offensive snap of the game on a third-down jet sweep. He’ll get an MRI Monday, and the Rams do not believe it’s a torn ACL.
Davante Adams is already on injured reserve, so the Rams’ receiver room is thin again.
Looking ahead to Week 10, the 49ers travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys, who improved to 4-5 after getting past the 2-7 Colts on a Dak Prescott drive that took less than 30 seconds and a Caleb Downs interception. The Cowboys’ defense isn’t exactly airtight, and the offense is capable of things like this:
That is the drunken play of the year.
The Rams head to Arizona for a rematch with the Cardinals, who already beat them 18-16 in Week 6 at Levi’s South SoFi Field behind six field goals and no touchdowns. The Cardinals have already shown they can get that one done once.
And the Seahawks go to Las Vegas to face a Raiders team that just coughed up four straight turnovers against San Francisco. Matchups matter, but after what happened Sunday, it’s fair to wonder how the Raiders will handle Seattle. Can they force four turnovers again?
In Other News...
49ers Suddenly Have A Mike Evans Problem They Cant Ignore
A late-week injury update has put the 49ers in a tougher spot than they wanted heading into their matchup with the Raiders. Mike Evans has been dealing with ribs and Achilles issues, and the team has already ruled him out for Week 9, leaving San Francisco to sort through its receiver depth at a time when every healthy target matters.
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch have both addressed the Achilles tendinitis, underscoring that this is not a minor inconvenience the club can simply play through. For now, the 49ers will have to lean on Brandin Cooks, Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins and Demarcus Robinson, who is back from injured reserve, while waiting to see how long Evans absence might linger. [Read more 🡒]
49ers May Help Brock Purdy With An Unusual Deadline Move
The 49ers are already thinking ahead to the 2026 NFL trade deadline, and the early conversation is less about chasing a splashy wide receiver than finding another way to keep the offense flexible. With injuries piling up at the receiver spot, the front office is weighing a pass-catching tight end as a possible fix, a route that would add another layer to an attack already built around George Kittle.
Dallas Goedert and David Njoku are among the names being discussed as San Francisco looks for help that can fit its system without forcing a wholesale change. Christian Kirk has been placed back on injured reserve, only adding to the urgency, and the unusual part of this search is how much the 49ers appear willing to lean on a different kind of weapon if it helps Brock Purdy and the passing game stay on track. [Read more 🡒]
49ers Game Day Changes Could Open The Door Against Raiders
The 49ers game-day picture shifted in a few notable ways heading into the matchup with the Raiders, and the changes could matter on both sides of the ball. San Francisco is looking at a defense that has the kind of front-line talent to tilt a game quickly, while the offense has a chance to press an opponent that has already shown some vulnerability in key matchups.
On the roster side, the 49ers also added some needed flexibility at receiver, a move that gives the offense a little more depth as it tries to keep pressure on Las Vegas. Against a Raiders defense that has had trouble holding up in certain spots, those adjustments could create openings for San Francisco if the right players are available and the right matchups develop early. [Read more 🡒]