The 6-1 49ers host the 4-4 Raiders at 1:25 p.m. Pacific on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium, the clubs’ first regular-season meeting in Santa Clara since 2018.
By Danny Fonoti
The San Francisco 49ers come off their bye on Sunday to host the Las Vegas Raiders at Levi’s Stadium in a game that is about more than two teams separated by two games in the standings. Nick Bosa is cleared to play for the first time since Week 2. DeForest Buckner is back in a 49ers uniform after a trade from Indianapolis. And the Raiders are making their first regular-season visit to the Bay Area since they left Oakland after the 2019 season.
Kickoff is at 1:25 p.m. Pacific on FOX. This account is a preview, written Sunday morning before the game.
San Francisco is 6-1, atop the NFC and the NFC West, and is trying to rebound from a 29-20 loss at Atlanta in Week 7, its first defeat of the season, the 49ers said in their Nov. 6 preview. Las Vegas is 4-4 under first-year head coach Klint Kubiak, who will call plays against a 49ers offense coordinated by his brother, Klay Kubiak.
Who is playing, and who is not
Bosa practiced in full on Friday after limited sessions Wednesday and Thursday with knee and calf injuries and carries no game designation, according to the 49ers’ Friday injury report and the Raiders’ corresponding report. He has been sidelined since Week 2 and will be returning after missing five games. “Cleared to go. Had a real good week. I’m excited to have him back,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said.
Buckner, acquired from the Colts before the trade deadline, rejoins the defensive line where he began his career. The 49ers said he is back in the Bay Area and part of the group that will face Las Vegas on Sunday.
Christian McCaffrey, who strained a hamstring in Atlanta, sat out Wednesday, was limited Thursday and practiced in full on Friday. He also has no game designation. Brock Purdy has completed 69.2 percent of his passes this season, the third-highest rate in the league, the team said.
The 49ers will be without three wide receivers. Mike Evans (ribs and Achilles), Deebo Samuel Sr. (hamstring) and Christian Kirk (knee) were all ruled out after Friday’s practice. Demarcus Robinson, who has been on injured reserve since an ankle injury in Week 2 against Miami, is questionable; Shanahan said the team would “most likely” activate him and was “not sure” about cornerback Nate Hobbs, who is also on injured reserve (adductor) and listed as questionable. Cornerback Upton Stout (shoulder and neck) and defensive back Siran Neal (knee and foot) are questionable as well.
For Las Vegas, defensive tackle Thomas Booker (ankle) is out and cornerback Darien Porter (groin) is questionable. Several other Raiders who appeared on the week’s practice report, including Folorunso Fatukasi, Ian Thomas and Dont’e Thornton, carry no game designation.
Final availability is announced 90 minutes before kickoff.
The Raiders, and a family reunion on the sideline
Kirk Cousins has thrown for 2,124 yards this season. Ashton Jeanty leads the Raiders’ rushing attack with 337 yards. Tight end Brock Bowers has 41 receptions for 547 yards. Defensive end Maxx Crosby has three sacks, the 49ers’ preview said. Las Vegas is averaging 27.6 points a game; San Francisco is averaging 28.1.
The Kubiak matchup is the game’s cleanest human subplot. Klint Kubiak, in his first season as the Raiders’ head coach, faces Klay Kubiak, the 49ers’ offensive coordinator. Speaking this week, the Raiders’ coach called San Francisco a “top offense in the league, top defense in the league,” according to the team’s website.
A rivalry that left, and is now coming back
Sunday will be the 16th regular-season meeting between the clubs. San Francisco leads the series 8-7 and has won the last two, including a 37-34 overtime victory in Las Vegas on Jan. 1, 2023, the 49ers said. The last time the Raiders played a regular-season game at Levi’s Stadium was Nov. 1, 2018, when the 49ers won 34-3. The Raiders played in Oakland through 2019 and moved to Las Vegas in 2020; this is their first return to the Bay Area for a regular-season game since that move.
The Oakland Coliseum, their home for decades, sits empty of silver and black on Sundays now. The rivalry that once divided households from Hayward to Santa Rosa will be played 40 miles down the Peninsula, in a stadium the 49ers have occupied since 2014.
Salute to Service, and Starship at halftime
Sunday is the 49ers’ annual Salute to Service game. The team said the Marine Corps 3rd Aircraft Wing Band from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar will perform before the game, the United States Air Force Singing Sergeants will sing the national anthem, and active-duty service members will help unfurl a full-field flag. Special teams coordinator Brant Boyer is the club’s 2026 Salute to Service Award nominee. At halftime, the Bay Area band Starship, led by singer Mickey Thomas, is scheduled to play “We Built This City” and “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now.”
The 49ers are 6-1, with Bosa cleared to return and Buckner back on the defensive line. The Raiders are .500, with Cousins, Bowers and Crosby as the players San Francisco’s preview singled out. The rest will be settled after 1:25 p.m.
Danny Fonoti covers Bay Area and California sports: the teams, the players, and the business and politics of the games. More from Danny Fonoti
