49ers Beat Raiders 38-17 as Defense Forces Five Turnovers

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Las Vegas Raiders 38-17 at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, riding three touchdowns from Brock Purdy and five second half takeaways to a seventh win in eight games.

San Francisco led 21-10 at halftime and broke the game open 17 seconds into the second half. Rookie linebacker Jaden Dugger intercepted Kirk Cousins on the first play of the third quarter and returned it for a touchdown and a 28-10 lead. The takeaways kept coming. Renardo Green and Malik Mustapha added interceptions, and Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw recovered fumbles after Warner and cornerback Upton Stout punched the ball loose from tight ends Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer. All five Las Vegas turnovers came after halftime.

Purdy completed 17 of 25 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. He also ran for a touchdown and threw the 100th regular season touchdown pass of his career. Christian McCaffrey opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run, caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Purdy in the second quarter, and finished with 18 carries for 68 yards and two catches for 19 yards. McCaffrey had missed time with a hamstring injury before the bye week.

Jordan Watkins stretched the lead late in the third quarter. He made a contested catch in the end zone for a 37-yard touchdown that put San Francisco up 35-17 with 36 seconds left in the quarter. Watkins finished with four catches for 86 yards. Eddy Pineiro closed the scoring with a 35-yard field goal with 5:21 left.

Raiders answer early, then stall

Cousins ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Matt Gay kicked a 50-yard field goal just before halftime to cut the lead to 21-10. Cousins found Bowers for a touchdown in the third quarter, and Bowers finished with seven catches for 111 yards. Cousins completed 22 of 32 passes for 216 yards and one touchdown, but his three interceptions ended any comeback. Las Vegas fell to 4-5.

San Francisco played a second straight game without wide receivers Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel, and Purdy spread the ball to all five active receivers in the first half.

Injury worry for San Francisco

The win carried one real cost. Rookie defensive tackle Gracen Halton was carted off late in the game with a leg injury that needed an air cast. The team gave no immediate update on his condition.

What it means

San Francisco stays at 7-1 with the defense setting the tone after the bye. Las Vegas leaves at 4-5 with five turnovers to explain and a quarterback who threw three interceptions in one half.