Defense Shines in Raiders' Preseason Victory

The Las Vegas Raiders defeated the San Francisco 49ers in dominant fashion on Sunday, largely because of their defensive effort.

The Las Vegas Raiders defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 34-7, in dominant fashion in their first preseason game of 2023 on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

The Raiders dominated the game from wire to wire, taking the lead early and rolling in the game in the second half.

The Silver and Black defense led the way in this game, holding the 49ers to one touchdown and 69 rushing yards.

The Raiders also had four sacks of San Francisco’s starting quarterback Trey Lance, two of them coming on the opening drive. John Jenkins got to Lance on the first play from scrimmage, and then defensive linemen Isaac Rochell and Jordan Willis took him down on third down to force a punt.

Later in the quarter, defensive tackle Adam Butler sacked Lance on another third down. The Raiders forced three-and-outs on the 49ers’ first two drives of the game.

The fourth sack of Lance came from rookie linebacker Amari Burney, who had an impressive day, also jumping in front of a Lance pass and nearly intercepting it.

The Raiders’ defense was flying around and playing with energy in this game, aggressively pursuing ball carriers each and every snap. This is a continued trend from how they looked during joint practices early in the week.

The Raiders also forced two turnovers on downs in this game, with defensive tackle Neil Farrell Jr. and Willis stuffing 49ers running back Jordan Mason in the second quarter. 

Farrell and cornerback Azizi Hearn stuffed backup quarterback Sam Darnold on a fourth-and-1 in the third quarter as well.

It was a shutout for the Raiders’ defense in the second half, as linebacker Curtis Bolton forced a fumble by rookie tight end Cameron Latu, and cornerback Sam Webb picked off Brandon Allen's pass in the fourth quarter, which led to a Chase Garbers' touchdown pass to Sincere McCormick.

While many expected starters did not play in this game, many rookies and players who are fighting for roster spots did, and all three levels of the defense were impressive.

The Raiders know they have to be better on defense if they want to return to the postseason in 2023, and Sunday’s victory was a step in the right direction.

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