The so-called Battle of the Bay turned into a battle of attrition
Sunday, as the Raiders searched for ways to move the ball and relied on
their defense to protect a slight lead. But in the end they failed on
both fronts and lost 17-9 to the 49ers.
It was the kind of game the Raiders expected, and wanted, yet wasted.
"The game really comes down to opportunity," Raiders coach Tom Cable
said. "We had a ton of opportunities offensively to score. We did not
score (touchdowns). We let them hang around. I'm very disappointed. Too
many opportunities to win a game, and we didn't get it done."
Jason Campbell, making his first start at quarterback since Cable
benched him midway through the Raiders' second game, completed only 8 of
21 passes for 83 yards, with 48 of those yards coming on back-to-back
plays to tight end Zach Miller early in the fourth quarter.
Defensive lapses late in the game also killed the Raiders.
Oakland controlled the contest for most of three quarters, answering
everything the 49ers dialed up until one glaring lapse changed the momentum.
With the Raiders leading 6-3 and playing a zone defense, quarterback
Alex Smith threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael
Crabtree to give the 49ers their first lead of the game at 10-6. It came
on the final play of the third quarter, and shifted momentum away from
the Raiders.
"We went to the zone, and they beat us," Raiders cornerback Nnamdi
Asomugha said. "They shouldn't have beaten us on that play because we
knew it was coming."
The Raiders cut the deficit to 10-9 on a 40-yard field goal by Sebastian
Janikowski with 8:21 left in the game, but the 49ers responded with a
three-play, 80-yard drive that culminated on a 17-yard touchdown pass
from Smith to tight end Vernon Davis. Frank Gore's 64-yard run to the
Raiders' 16 got the drive started.
"We were completely fine until Frank Gore broke that run, " Asomugha
said. "Then I saw the momentum shift. Even after the deep touchdown, I
still thought we were fine. After that run, you saw it shift completely."
Gore bolted past middle linebacker Rolando McClain and defensive tackle
Tommy Kelly into the open field before he was tackled 64 yards later.
The 49ers scored a touchdown two plays later for an eight-point lead,
from which the Raiders never recovered.
Again, a blown coverage was to blame. Safeties Tyvon Branch and Hiram
Eugene allowed Davis to get open in the left flat, where Smith delivered
a strike.
Asomugha said the Raiders were victimized on a play they practiced
against last week and expected to see from the 49ers.
"That's the story of the Raiders," Kelly said. "Play good, play good,
boom! There goes something. To go from the high of last week to this
low, it's rough."
Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt said mental lapses by the defense
coincided with well-timed play calls by the 49ers.
"It was definitely mental," Routt said. "We beat ourselves, plain and
simple."
The Raiders bemoaned that they came away with field goals after
sustained drives on their first two possessions of the game. Both drives
stalled inside the 49ers' 10-yard line.
"To not come out with (touchdowns), it seemed like the air kind of went
out of us, for whatever reason," Campbell said.
Several Raiders said they feared their inability to score touchdowns on
those first two drives would come back to haunt them.
"You let a team hang around long enough, hang around and don't deliver
the knockout, that's what'll happen," defensive tackle Richard Seymour said.
Every other AFC West team lost Sunday, making it the second straight
week the Raiders blew an opportunity to gain ground. Oakland dropped to
2-4 and remains 11/2 games behind first-place Kansas City.
The Raiders had a chance to tie the game on their final possession, but
their hopes were dashed when Campbell threw his second interception of
the game. That ended the Raiders' hopes of reaching .500 for the first
time this late in a season since 2002.
Campbell completed five of seven passes on the Raiders' first two drives
-- for 28 yards -- and he misfired on 11 of his final 14 attempts. His
performance should give injured starter Bruce Gradkowski nothing to
worry about when he returns from an injured shoulder, possibly next
Sunday against the Broncos.
Campbell didn't throw a pass in the second half until early in the
fourth quarter, partly because the 49ers held the ball for all but four
plays during that time.
That made it difficult to establish a rhythm in the passing game,
Campbell said.
"It's tough," Campbell said. "Rhythm is all about timing and executing,
and I just didn't feel like we found that rhythm in the second half, the
way we came out in the (beginning of the) game."
