How the Las Vegas Raiders performed in an 18-12 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Thursday’s preseason game at Allegiant Stadium:
Offense: C-
Kirk Cousins led two field-goal drives and finished the preseason by putting points on the board on each of the three drives in which he participated.
Both of the possessions were very methodical and lacked explosion, however.
Fernando Mendoza got a couple chances to play with mostly the first-team offense against 49ers reserves, but wasn’t able to take advantage.
He threw an interception on a high ball over the middle that took several deflections and finished with three points on five possessions.
It was the conclusion of a fairly mediocre preseason for the No. 1 pick, who is likely to start the regular season continuing his internship under Cousins.
Defense: B
The Raiders didn’t have to deal with any of the regulars or a regular-season Kyle Shanahan game plan, but they were solid in most of the areas defensive coordinator Rob Leonard has been stressing.
They gave up a lot of yards but stiffened in the red zone and were phenomenal on third down, holding San Francisco to 4 for 15.
While the Raiders weren’t able to generate any takeaways, it was a clear improvement for a group that struggled the first three halves of the preseason before finding a bit of a rhythm.
They still have to prove they can do it against starters. But it’s a foundation from which to build for Leonard’s new scheme.
Special Teams: B+
The main objective for Joe DeCamillis’ group was to clean up its operations after a whopping five penalties against the Houston Texans.
They were able to do that.
The Raiders didn’t commit any obvious blunders on special teams and nearly came up with a huge play when E.J. Williams Jr. just missed downing the ball at the 1-yard line on a punt.
Still, AJ Cole had another good night punting the ball.
Matt Gay missed from 54 yards, but made his other four attempts as he appears to have locked up the job.
Coaching: B
There were certain areas the coaching staff stressed and the team seemed to respond.
That’s a good sign.
Klint Kubiak gave DeCamillis extended practice time for special teams during practice this week and that paid off. They also improved on third-down defense, though they really struggled to stop the run.
Kubiak also managed the clock fairly well at the end of the second quarter. Mendoza, however, may have been a bit too deliberate on the ensuing drive that ended in a field goal just at the halfitme buzzer.
He was able to get through his first preseason as a head coach without any egregious decisions.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.
