Nick at Night, 9ers roll Raiders in Battle of the Bay

Week 9 - Returning home to host the Oakland Raiders (1-6) with bragging rights on the line in what's likely to be the last installment of the Battle of the Bay before the silver and black pack their bags and relocate to Las Vegas in 2020, Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers (1-7) liked their chances of pulling out the rare win and ending their six-game losing-skid on Thursday night. But a game-time decision at the quarterback position would force coach Shanahan to start his third-string quarterback who had never stepped onto an NFL field outside of the preseason. With C.J. Beathard nursing an injured wrist, waiting in the wings would be Nick Mullens who would get the starting nod to make his NFL debut about an hour before kickoff. With little known about Mullens and very few giving him a chance coming into the game, the undrafted QB in his second-year out of Southern Mississippi would be the talk of the town by games end.

Following an opening-drive field goal by the Raiders, Mullens would answer back with a perfect drive on San Francisco's first possession by going 3-for-3 thru the air and capping things off with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon who had returned to action after missing last week's game with a knee injury. In his second year with the team, the touchdown reception would be Garcon's first in a Niners uniform after being dangled on the trading block before the NFL trade deadline just two days earlier. But things wouldn't end there for Mullens who's spectacular night would just be getting started as he orchestrated yet another impressive drive on San Francisco's second possession. Facing third & goal from the 4-yard line, Mullens remained calm before throwing a strike to Kendrick Bourne in the end zone. The 49ers nearly struck for a third touchdown just before the half, but a drop by rookie receiver Richie James Jr. who hauled in a 53-yard reception just three-plays earlier, forced them to settle for a field goal. By halftime, Mullens had already hit eight different receivers in the passing game and the Niners had jumped out to a 17-3 lead.

Having made a bad habit out of blowing second half leads in games this season against the Chargers, Packers and Cardinals, Mullens and company would refuse to take their foot off the gas pedal in this one as they showed no mercy on each of their first two possessions of the third quarter. George Kittle who's been one of if not the best tight-end in the league this year, flexed his muscles yet again by hauling in four catches for 108-yards on Thursday, none bigger than the one-handed grab he snagged and took 71-yards before being brought down. Mullens would reward him for his efforts just two-plays later with an easy touchdown. The Niners' scoring barrage would get its biggest touchdown of the night one-drive later as running back Raheem Mostert used a down-field block from 2018 first-round pick Mike McGlinchey to his advantage for a 52-yard touchdown, putting a dagger in the heart of a Raiders run defense that ranks last in the league and was coming off a BYE. Mostert would lead all rushers with 86-yards on just 7 carries, but would unfortunately suffer a gruesome arm injury that would end his season. All the Raiders would have to show for in the second half was a missed field goal attempt that would clink off the right upright as the Niners stormed away with a 34-3 victory.

With the win, San Francisco snaps its six-game losing-streak and improves to 2-7 on the year. Meanwhile, the team across the bay who in their first season (again) under head coach Jon Gruden, falls to 1-7 on the season, their third worst start in franchise history thru their first 8 games. Raiders quarterback David Carr who was sacked a total of seven times on Thursday, was held to only 171-yards passing on 16-of-21 attempts. As for Nick Mullens, the Southern Mississippi kid who wears his No. 4 jersey in honor of fellow Southern Miss. alum Brett Favre and who's school records he broke for both career passing yards and career passing touchdowns, the new kid on the block threw for 262-yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-22 pass attempts. Mullens would one-up his idol once more by logging a 151.9 passer rating in his first career start compared to the 144.6 rating put up in Favre's debut. Mullens' passer rating would be the highest in an NFL debut since 1990 with a minimum of 20 pass attempts and would earn him a phone call from the man himself as Favre called and congratulated Mullens following the game for his performance and first career victory.

Week 10 Preview - Playing host to the lowly New York Giants (1-7) on Monday Night Football before heading into their Week 11 BYE, the 49ers could very well be riding a two-game winning-streak when we see them again in Week 12. The lone team the Niners were able to beat a season ago with somebody not named Garoppolo under center, San Francisco will likely make it back-to-back victories against the G-Men. However, the Giants will be coming off a BYE and are likely to unleash rookie sensation Saquon Barkley who will have fresh legs and will look to make the Niners' win-streak a short-lived one. And again we might not know until kickoff who coach Shanahan elects to go with at the QB position as he refused to commit to Mullens even after he became the first Niners QB to throw for 250+ yards with at least 3 TD's and no interceptions since Colin Kaepernick did it in Week 6 of 2014. Not to mention Beathard's only career victory came against these Giants a year ago. While I'd like to think Mullens earned the right to start for a second consecutive game, I expect the Niners to pull off their second straight win regardless of who's at the helm come Monday.


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