Christian McCaffrey had one yard to go for the first touchdown. Brock Purdy had the same distance for the second. The work in San Francisco’s 38-17 win over Las Vegas came considerably earlier in those drives, and it’s easy to miss when the 49ers also get five takeaways in one half.
San Francisco’s first two touchdown drives ended with those short runs. McCaffrey’s 1-yard plunge capped a 12-play, 69-yard opening march at 9:32 of the first quarter. The next possession lasted 13 plays and covered 89 yards before Purdy ran in from the 1 with 1:52 remaining in the period.
A third long possession — 12 plays, 84 yards — ended with Purdy finding McCaffrey for a 12-yard touchdown at 5:15 of the second quarter.
That opening sequence made the 49ers’ rushing production easy to overlook. They finished with 190 yards on 43 attempts, a substantial contribution in a game whose final margin was built partly through defensive chaos. The offense converted 8 of 13 third downs and held the ball for 38:18.
Those figures fit together without pretending that the running game alone created every conversion or every minute of possession. San Francisco’s passing attack also moved the chains, with Purdy completing 17 throws in 25 attempts for 232 yards.
McCaffrey carried 18 times for 68 yards. Purdy added 40 on seven rushes, including an 18-yard gain. Together, the two scoring runs and the longer gains show how many jobs the ground game did on Sunday. It moved the chains and, once the offense had arrived near the goal line, it gave San Francisco a direct way to finish.
But the 21-10 halftime advantage did not become a blowout simply because San Francisco kept running. The decisive shift came when its defense began turning Raiders possessions into abrupt endings.
Jaden Dugger supplied the loudest beginning. On Las Vegas’ first offensive snap after halftime, he intercepted Kirk Cousins and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. The play came 17 seconds into the third quarter and stretched the margin to 28-10.
Las Vegas answered with a 69-yard touchdown drive, ending when Brock Bowers caught a 21-yard scoring pass, so the Raiders had not vanished from the game. They were about to lose their best chances to make it close, however.
Purdy then threw an interception that put Las Vegas at the San Francisco 31. That was precisely the sort of field position that can turn a comfortable afternoon into a nervous one. Instead, on the Raiders’ next offensive play, Bowers caught a short pass and Fred Warner knocked the ball loose.
Greenlaw recovered at the 31. San Francisco failed to score on the ensuing possession, but the turnover prevented Las Vegas from converting San Francisco’s mistake into points.
