Raiders stall in 18-12 loss to 49ers

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The Raiders never found the end zone in their preseason finale, but several roster decisions came into sharper focus before the games start counting.

Las Vegas fell 18-12 to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday at Allegiant Stadium, finishing the preseason 1-2. The offense stalled too often, but Kirk Cousins looked like the most stable quarterback option while Mike Washington Jr. and Matt Gay strengthened their cases for larger roles.

Cousins looks like the safest bet

Cousins started and completed 8 of 11 passes for 51 yards without a turnover. More important, the offense looked organized while he was on the field.

He checked into runs, worked through underneath options and used motion effectively with Tre Tucker. His first pass nearly became an interception when former Raiders cornerback Jack Jones jumped a throw to Brock Bowers, but Cousins settled in from there.

Las Vegas scored on both of Cousins’ possessions, although each drive ended with a field goal.

Fernando Mendoza followed and had a more uneven night. The rookie completed 7 of 14 passes for 57 yards with one interception and took two sacks for 20 yards.

The interception came on a hard throw over the middle to Jalen Nailor. The pass was slightly high, tipped and intercepted by Tatum Bethune.

Mendoza still flashed some of the toughness the Raiders have liked. On one broken play, he escaped pressure, broke a tackle, spun free of another defender and dove forward for 7 yards before converting a quarterback sneak on the next snap.

Aidan O’Connell entered in the fourth quarter and finished 3 of 9 for 32 yards. He got the ball with 1:51 remaining and Las Vegas trailing 15-12, almost mirroring the late situation he converted in Houston the previous week.

This time, the drive ended when O’Connell scrambled for only 2 yards on 4th-and-5. That leaves Las Vegas with a real roster question as it considers whether to carry three quarterbacks.

Cousins looked like the best option to win now, while Mendoza and O’Connell each had uneven nights.

Washington makes his case

With Ashton Jeanty sidelined, Washington took full advantage of first-team work.

The rookie rushed eight times for 49 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. He ran with power from the opening series, including an 8-yard gain when he drove through a defensive back.

Washington later added runs of 13 and 11 yards. His decisiveness stood out, especially behind the starting offensive line.

The performance continued a strong preseason. Washington entered the night with 119 rushing yards through two games and again looked capable of handling meaningful snaps if Jeanty is unavailable.

Gay strengthens his grip

Gay accounted for all 12 Raiders points, making four of five field goals.

He connected from 37, 53, 45 and 48 yards. His only miss came from 54 yards, wide left, and was his first miss of the preseason.

The game turned into a kicking duel. San Francisco’s Eddy Piñeiro made all six of his attempts, including kicks from 59, 51 and 54 yards in the fourth quarter.

Ten field goals were made between the teams. Neither offense scored a touchdown.

Gay’s performance matters even more after Kansei Matsuzawa struggled in Houston. Gay has now delivered multiple long-range makes this preseason and looked comfortable throughout the finale.

AJ Cole also continued his strong special teams work, averaging 56.7 yards on three punts with a long of 63.

Defense keeps forcing stops

The Raiders defense consistently got off the field, regardless of which group was playing.

San Francisco finished 4-for-15 on third down and 0-for-3 in the red zone. Las Vegas held the 49ers to 0-for-6 on third down in the first half and 1-for-9 through three quarters.

Raiders coach Klint Kubiak praised the unit at halftime.

“Those guys came out firing and they did a great job,” Kubiak said. “We’ve got to put more points on the board for them.”

Isaiah Pola-Mao broke up a goal-line pass after Mendoza’s interception gave San Francisco a short field. Patrick Johnson added three tackles and a tackle for loss while continuing his productive preseason.

The biggest concern came when rookie defensive end Keyron Crawford was carted off in the third quarter. Crawford, the Raiders’ third-round pick at No. 67 overall, had recorded a sack earlier in the quarter before leaving the game.