Predicting 49ers final 5 games to make a playoff run
Week 17: 49ers @ Raiders
Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, at 4:05 p.m. ET
I do not like this game at all for one very key reason: Davante Adams is a Raider.
Much like the Seahawks, the Las Vegas Raiders are an awful defensive team while boasting a pretty strong offensive unit.
Their defense is pretty bad across the board, but is especially putrid against the pass, allowing 7 yards per attempt through the air and grabbing just four interceptions in 12 games.
But the Raiders can play offense, especially in the running game led by Josh Jacobs, which is averaging 5.2 yards per carry, good for second in the NFL so far. Jacobs himself is already over 1,300 yards at this point in the season.
Their passing game isn’t bad, with quarterback Derek Carr leading the charge and Adams pulling in 79 passes for 1,176 yards and 12 touchdowns, with the yardage accounting for just under 40 percent of Carr’s total for the season.
And much like the Commanders, this is a team that has been unlucky with six of their seven losses coming by a touchdown or less.
With this one being an AFC opponent, therefore not quite as vital to the 49ers’ season, I think this one ends up getting weird.
And as much as I hate to say it, I could totally see the Niners falling on the road to their old cross-bay rivals.
Of course, it’ll be close. Probably ending with a heartbreaker from Carr to Adams.