49ers standouts vs. Raiders: Brock Purdy's hot start, Jake Moody's redemption

New York Times

a day ago

LAS VEGAS — The injuries keep piling up for the San Francisco 49ers, as three players were knocked out of Saturday's preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders, most notably starting right guard Dominick Puni.
The 49ers couldn't run the ball (but hey, it's a passing league), and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir will be hearing it from teammates for a while after Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty hit him with a stiff-arm that sent Lenoir straight to the ground.
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Jake Moody went from goat to hero and won the game, 22-19, with a 59-yard field goal with 13 seconds left. He was one of three standouts at Allegiant Stadium, along with three things that will have the coaching staff scratching their heads when they watch the game on film.
Moody missed a 53-yard field goal badly in the second quarter after making a 30-yarder in the first quarter. He then barely made a 26-yarder in the third quarter, and maybe Greg Joseph, the vanquished training-camp competitor, was getting a little excited watching on his couch somewhere.
But Moody nailed the next three kicks, from 50, 44 and 59 yards out, all in the fourth quarter and the latter two in the final minute. (He said his new two-step approach is good up until 63 yards, and beyond that, he might have had to go back to taking three steps.) His 49ers teammates swarmed him after the game-winning kick, and yeah, it was a rewarding feeling after his struggles last season.
JAKE MOODY 59-YARD FIELD GOAL FOR THE WIN @49ers pic.twitter.com/FazDstH8EQ
— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025
'It feels really good,' Moody said. 'I am glad I got a few more chances after the miss earlier to bounce back and get on track.'
Purdy looked very sharp in his first appearance of the preseason. He completed 5 of 7 passes for 66 yards on the opening drive for a field goal, relying on his new favorite target with both George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey sitting out.
Purdy hit Pearsall on the first two plays of the game, and then the best throw came on a third-and-18 conversion, where Purdy let go of the ball before Pearsall even cut inside on his dig route. The two did have a miscommunication later in the end zone, when Pearsall apparently went the wrong way on a choice route. Purdy's other incompletion was off the hands of Demarcus Robinson.
Brock Purdy and Ricky Pearsall in an early rhythm
Watch on @NFLNetworkStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/zHvpDMNbi5
— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025
Pearsall finished with three catches on four targets for 42 yards on that first drive, and then he and Purdy put on baseball caps.
'The more Brock and Ricky are out there together, the better they get,' coach Kyle Shanahan said. 'Ricky got a late start, but he's put together a couple of good weeks. He's been that way in practice, and it was good to get him out there and see it in a game.'
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Shanahan also had to feel good about Brandon Aiyuk (knee) running routes in pregame warmups and Jauan Jennings (calf) joining the team at the game after missing the last couple of weeks.
The rookie missed a couple of tackles for the second consecutive preseason game, but that's just because he is moving so fast. Martin had a sack and also later punched the ball out on a deep throw to a tight end, forcing an incompletion.
'He came around and had some really good hits,' Shanahan said. 'He had that sack on a third down, and I saw a lot of good things. I am excited to watch the film on the plane.'
Defensive backs Marques Sigle and Chase Lucas, meanwhile, built off their strong performances in the first preseason game. Sigle showed his open-field tackle prowess, while Lucas came up with a sack for the second consecutive week and an interception. He looked like the receiver on the play.
Chase Lucas gets the ball back for the @49ers 🙌
Watch on @NFLNetworkStream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Q0ROfDJk3i
— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025
After the game, Lucas gave 'thanks to (Raiders quarterback Aidan) O'Connell for throwing a perfect pass right in my hands.' He also credited defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for the 135 film clips Lucas was given to watch this week, saying he saw the route coming the whole way off of the snap.
The 49ers have had a lot of injuries during training camp, and they had three more players go down early in Saturday's game. Puni left the game with a knee injury after teammate Matt Hennessy was pancaked back onto his leg on a field goal.
Shanahan said Puni has a possible PCL injury and might miss a few weeks, putting his status for the regular-season opener in question.
Running back Patrick Taylor was knocked out with a shoulder injury, and then rookie running back Corey Kiner was carted off the field after his ankle apparently got twisted up on a tackle after a 19-yard run. Shanahan said Patrick suffered a dislocated shoulder and Kiner has a high-ankle sprain. Both will miss a few weeks.
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The 49ers ran the ball 28 times for 64 yards (2.3 average). If you took away the nice hole on Kiner's 19-yarder, it would have been 27 for 45 (1.7 average). The 49ers' backup offensive linemen weren't able to create any space, and right tackle Pleasants really struggled. The team combined for four false starts, two by Isaiah Prince (two) and one each by Spencer Burford (one) and center Nick Zakelj, who was whistled for a snap infraction.
The second-round rookie defensive tackle is big enough to occupy space, but his slow get-off was again noticeable after he had a quiet performance in the preseason opener. It will be interesting to see how much the 49ers can play him early in the season.
(Photo of Jake Moody, 4: Candice Ward / Getty Images)
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