Tashaun Gipson Sr. intercepted Jarrett Stidham’s pass on the fourth play of overtime and Robbie Gould avenged an earlier miss with a 23-yard field goal as the San Francisco 49ers won a ninth straight game by beating the host Las Vegas Raiders 37-34 on Sunday afternoon.
The win, coupled with losses by the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) and Minnesota Vikings (12-4), allowed the 49ers (12-4) to move into the No. 2 playoff position in the NFC and kept them alive for the No. 1 seed with one week left in the regular season.
San Francisco could claim the top spot in the NFC postseason with a win next week at home over the Arizona Cardinals coupled with an Eagles loss at home to the New York Giants.
Making his first start for the Raiders following the benching of Derek Carr during the week, Stidham threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns for the Raiders (6-10), who were eliminated from AFC playoff contention.
But Stidham’s second interception of the day proved costly, as Gipson snatched it at the San Francisco 37 and ran it 56 yards to the Las Vegas 7-yard line. A personal foul on the Raiders pushed the ball halfway to the goal, after which 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy took a knee to center the ball and Gould came on to end it.
Gould also had a chance to be the hero on the final play of regulation but pushed a 41-yarder wide to the right, prompting overtime.
That opportunity came after Stidham quickly drove the Raiders 75 yards in three plays for a tying score with 1:11 remaining. Josh Jacobs got the TD on a 1-yard plunge, which was set up by a 45-yard catch by Davante Adams and a pass interference penalty on Fred Warner in the end zone, placing the ball at the 1.
Making his fourth start, Purdy finished 22-for-35 for 284 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The touchdowns went to Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, each covering 2 yards, with the latter giving the 49ers a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter.
Aiyuk totaled 101 receiving yards on nine catches. Christian McCaffrey was the game’s leading rusher with 121 yards and a 14-yard TD on 19 carries. McCaffrey also had 72 yards on six receptions.
Jordan Mason scored San Francisco’s other TD on another 14-yard run, this one giving the 49ers a 34-27 lead with just 2:17 to play.
Stidham’s TD passes covered 24 yards to Darren Waller and 4 and 60 yards to Adams for consecutive Las Vegas scores. The two Adams touchdowns that sandwiched halftime flipped a four-point deficit into a 24-14 lead in the fifth minute of the third quarter.
Adams finished with seven catches for a game-high 153 yards.
Gould had 43- and 24-yard field goals early in the fourth quarter before his game-winner in overtime. The Raiders’ Daniel Carlson matched the regulation effort with 20- and 57-yard successes of his own.
Sunday marked the longtime geographic rivals’ first-ever meeting in Las Vegas.
–Field Level Media
