49ers heavy favorites over Raiders after QB change

By The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (11-4) AT LAS VEGAS (6-9)

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. EST, FOX

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: 49ers by 9 1/2

AGAINST THE SPREAD: 49ers 10-5; Raiders 7-8

SERIES RECORD: 7-7

LAST MEETING: 49ers beat the Raiders 34-3 on Nov. 1, 2018.

LAST WEEK: 49ers beat Commanders 37-20; Raiders lost to Steelers 13-10

49ERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (9), RUSH (9), PASS (12), SCORING (8).

49ERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (1), PASS (16), SCORING (1).

RAIDERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (14), RUSH (15), PASS (13), SCORING (12).

RAIDERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (15), PASS (27), SCORING (23).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: 49ers plus-8; Raiders minus-5.

49ERS PLAYER TO WATCH: DE Nick Bosa leads the NFL with 17 1/2 sacks after getting two more and a forced fumble last week. Bosa needs just two more sacks to tie Aldon Smith’s franchise record of 19 1/2 set in 2012. Bosa is the fourth player since sacks became an official stat in 1982 to have at least one in 12 games in a season.

RAIDERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Jarrett Stidham. Stidham has never started in his four NFL seasons and has thrown only 61 passes, and now he faces the NFL’s best defense. The 49ers aren’t as good against the pass, but it’s still a big challenge for a first start.

KEY MATCHUP: Raiders LT Kolton Miller vs. 49ers RDE Nick Bosa. Miller has been the most dependable lineman the Raiders have had the past five seasons and has effectively kept opposing pass rushers in check. He will be heavily tested by Bosa, and that matchup will go a long way to determining what kind of debut performance new Raiders QB Jarrett Stidham puts together.

KEY INJURIES: The Niners are hoping to get DL Jordan Willis (ankle) back this week. … Raiders DE Chandler Jones (elbow) and LB Denzel Perryman (shoulder) were placed on season-ending injured reserve. CB Rock Ya-Sin (knee) returned to practice Wednesday in a limited role. He has missed the past three games.

SERIES NOTES: San Francisco has won four of the past five meetings. … The Raiders’ previous victory was in 2014, a 24-13 win when the franchise was in Oakland, California. … This is the first meeting between the former Bay Area rivals since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020. … This is only the seventh meeting in 28 years.

STATS AND STUFF: The Niners have won eight straight games while allowing 20 points or fewer every game, becoming the first team since the 2019 Ravens to do that. … San Francisco has outscored the opposition by 16.6 ppg during the win streak and ranks second in the NFL for the season, outscoring opponents by 9.7 ppg. … The 49ers are seeking their first nine-game winning streak in the regular season since winning 11 in a row in 1997. … The Niners have scored multiple TDs from scrimmage of at least 20 yards in three straight games. The previous team to do that was the 2019 49ers. … San Francisco QB Brock Purdy joined Hall of Famer Kurt Warner as the only QBs since at least 1950 to win their first three starts while throwing multiple TD passes in every game. … Purdy’s four straight games with at least two TD passes are tied for the longest streak for the 49ers since Jeff Garcia had an eight-game streak in 2001. … San Francisco TE George Kittle has 10 catches for 213 yards and four TDs the past two games, giving him a career-high eight TD receptions on the season. Kittle is the first Niners tight end since the merger with back-to-back games with multiple TD catches. The previous player to do it for San Francisco before Kittle was receiver Terrell Owens in 2002. … San Francisco RB Christian McCaffrey needs 27 yards rushing for his third career season with at least 1,000 yards on the ground. … McCaffrey as scored a TD in four straight games. … The Niners converted only one of five red zone trips into TDs last week. … Las Vegas RB Josh Jacobs is 13 rushing yards from passing Marcus Allen (4,638) for the most rushing yards through the first four seasons in franchise history. … Jacobs needs 221 rushing yards over the final two games to set the Raiders’ single-season record, held by Allen, who gained 1,759 yards in a season in 1985. … Jacobs averages 4.0 yards after contact, tops in the NFL, according to NextGen Stats. … WR Hunter Renfrow is the first Raider to catch at least one pass in each of the first 54 games of his career. … WR Davante Adams needs one touchdown catch to become the eighth player in league history with at least three seasons of 13 or more receiving TDs. … Adams has at least one touchdown catch in 63 games going back to 2014, most in the NFL. … Adams averages 14.7 yards per reception, second in the league to Philadelphia’s A.J. Brown, who averages 16.3 yards.

FANTASY TIP: Going with 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey is seldom a bad choice, and it’s an especially good one this weekend. The Raiders are a bottom-tier defense, and McCaffrey should be able to put up numbers rushing and receiving. Especially considering he’s coming off a subpar performance against the Washington Commanders, look for McCaffrey to be locked in.

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