Kaepernick, 49ers hit Rock Bottom in loss to Raiders

Battle of the Bay - After being humiliated in their own home on Thanksgiving in a loss at the hands of bitter rival Seattle, the 7-5 49ers took a trip across the bay to face the 1-11 Oakland Raiders who were coming off of a 52-0 shellacking versus the St. Louis Rams. Entering the game, San Francisco was set to square off with a dismal Raiders team which owns the worst record in the league and has been the laughing stock of the NFL for the greater part of the last decade. With every game being a must-win for the 49ers who entered Sunday's game trailing several teams in the Wild Card race, Jim Harbaugh's club could ill-afford another loss, let alone one to the worst team in the league. But even Oakland's struggles wouldn't be enough to help pull Colin Kaepernick and the declining 49er offense from out of the pits as the team hit rock bottom.

Kaepernick would be intercepted on the first play of the game to put his team in an early hole as Oakland capitalized with a 57-yard chip-shot field goal from kicker Sebastian Janikowski. The 49er offense would get it together two drives later as Kaepernick found fullback Bruce Miller for a go-ahead 8 yard touchdown, but it would be the lone bright spot on the day for the San Francisco offense. The lead wouldn't last for long, however, as Raiders rookie QB Derek Carr answered with his first of three touchdown passes on the afternoon. Then, for the first time in what seemed like practically the entire season, Kaepernick used his legs to put the team in scoring position as the 49ers tied the game on a Phil Dawson field goal just before the half. After forcing a three and out on Oakland's first possession of the second half, San Francisco had a chance to put up more than a field goal but the 49er offense would sputter in the red zone like they've done so often this year and was forced to settle for three. 

Trailing 13-10, Derek Carr would orchestrate back to back touchdown scoring drives to pull Oakland ahead as the 49ers found themselves trailing by double-digits with just over 10 minutes to play. With their backs against the wall, San Francisco would dig themselves an even deeper hole as Phil Dawson missed wide-left on a 47-yard field goal attempt that would've brought the Niners within 8-points. Kaepernick would get one final chance to inch his team closer in hopes of pulling off the comeback but would be intercepted for the second time, sealing Oakland's second victory of season, 24-13, and putting San Francisco on the brink of playoff elimination for the first time under head coach Jim Harbaugh. 

While the 49ers struggled through the air, totaling only 174 yards from Kaepernick, they had success when rushing the ball. The only problem being they didn't run the ball enough for whatever reason. On just 12 carries, Niners running back Frank Gore tallied 63 yards compared to the 76 yards Oakland's Latavius Murray rushed for on 23 carries. But the story of the game would be the quarterback position as Derek Carr had arguably his best performance as a pro, outplaying his counterpart Colin Kaepernick by throwing for 254 yards, 3 touchdowns and zero turnovers compared to Kaepernick's 174 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Carr was also only sacked once for 9 yards opposed to the five times Kaepernick went down for a loss of 23 yards. With the loss, the 49ers fell to 7-6 on the year. Sadly, the standings wasn't the only area the team took a loss in as San Francisco's already depleted o-line took another hit as rookie center Marcus Martin left Sunday's game with a knee injury. His status on whether or not he'll be back when the 49ers hit the field in Week 15 is not yet known. 

Week 15 Preview: Though the 49ers still have slim chance of making the playoffs this season, they'll have to win out if they plan to keep coach Harbaugh's streak of consecutive trips to the title game alive. A task that'll be none too easily to accomplish given San Francisco's remaining schedule. And their Week 15 visit in Seattle will be their toughest task yet as the 49ers take the field on the road against the Seahawks (9-4) for the first time since losing the NFC Championship game last January. A 49er win would not only do wonders for San Francisco's dwindling playoff hopes, but it would also put a dent in Seattle's bid to win the NFC Western Division as they still trail the Arizona Cardinals by a game. But in order to do that, they'd have to put up more of a fight than the pathetic 19-3 showing that took place just a couple weeks ago on Thanksgiving. 


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