There might be a lingering rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders based upon their old geographical proximity when the Raiders were based in Oakland, and there are plenty of fans who can recall those years.
Yet Vegas was more than willing to help out the Niners despite whatever rivalry still exists, specifically with regard to San Francisco's unprecedented travel to Australia to take on the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1.
General manager John Lynch spoke to KNBR 680 and described how the 49ers opted to travel as early as possible down under to best prepare both players and staff for the extreme time-zone difference.
In order to make that as successful as possible, the Niners needed a little help. And Las Vegas granted it.
John Lynch says Raiders helped 49ers by agreeing to earlier preseason game
San Francisco didn't have to travel much for its preseason campaign, playing the exhibition opener against the Tennessee Titans at home before road games against both the Los Angeles Chargers and Raiders.
Vegas, host of the preseason finale, potentially presented a problem, though, as the 49ers had to both prepare their opening 53-man roster and then prepare for a cross-ocean flight.
Luckily, according to Lynch, Las Vegas opted to help the Niners out.
"They were good partners in that," Lynch said of the Raiders. "And then [they] made the suggestion, 'Let's do this Thursday so we have ample time, diagnose injuries,' and all that before the 53-man roster was set."
Being the home team for that bout, Vegas could've pushed for a weekend game instead of playing on Thursday, which likely would have garnered better TV ratings. Instead, playing Thursday night afforded San Francisco more time to prepare for the first-ever NFL game in Australia.
Also, it's worth pointing out that Las Vegas' head coach, Klint Kubiak, was once on the 49ers' staff back in 2023. That unquestionably helped in some regard.
Lynch added the Niners "appreciate the Raiders working with us to have that game on Thursday."
Hat tip to David Bonilla of 49ers Webzone for the transcription.
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