Although the San Francisco 49ers haven't played a single down since their season-finale win over the division rival Rams on New Year's Eve, the Niners have added yet another tally in the win column and are now 6-0 since the start of the Jimmy Garoppolo era after a different kind of victory in Indianapolis on Friday. With the 2018 regular season expected to feature the final installment of the Battle of the Bay between the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, unless of course the two were to miraculously meet in the Super Bowl before the Black Hole packs its bags and departs to its new home in Las Vegas come 2020, the two teams met at the NFL Combine for a tiebreaking coin toss that would determine the draft order for the two Bay Area franchises who fell short of the playoffs and finished tied in 2017 with an overall record of 6-10.
Streamed live as fans of the two teams anxiously awaited for the outcome of the coin flip which was done by Rod Woodson who played for both franchises during his Hall of Fame career, the tandem of Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie and newly named head coach Jon Gruden were on hand to represent the silver and black, while Niners GM John Lynch who once upon a time played for coach Gruden's Super Bowl-winning Buccaneers team in 2003, rode solo to represent for his squad. The Niners who have needs at several positions, won the toss and will select 9th overall, one spot ahead of the Raiders at pick No. 10. Most Mock Draft's heading into April's Draft have had the winning team of the coin toss taking either Virginia Tech linebacker Tremaine Edmunds or Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward, and the losing team taking whichever player is still available out of the two at No. 10. Unless of course either player is selected earlier or if either team was to trade down or out of their original spot.
Oddly enough, it would mark the second time a coin toss involving these two franchises would take place to determine draft order, as the 49ers once again reigned victorious against the Raiders for the 6th overall pick back in 2006 which the 49ers would use to select Maryland tight-end Vernon Davis. And while San Francisco has a 2-0 advantage over Oakland in all-time draft order coin tosses, it's the Raiders who currently own a 7-6 advantage over their Bay Area counterparts in regular season match-ups. That's something John Lynch and company hope to change by evening the score when the two teams meet as the NFC West squares off against the AFC West this season. But back to the Draft which will commence on April 26, San Francisco will look to fill whatever holes they're unable to address on the free-agent market as the 49ers front-office is expected to be very active and aggressive in luring top free-agent talent with close to $70 Million available in cap space, even after signing QB Jimmy Garoppolo to a new deal.
Though the 49ers would love to have either one of the following three fall players to them at No. 9 -- Penn State RB Saquon Barkley, N.C. State DE Bradley Chubb and Notre Dame OG Quenton Nelson, the likelihood of any of those three names still being on the board come San Francisco's pick, is unlikely, assuming they don't trade down. Each player would fill a void in a different area as bringing in Barkley would address the uncertainty of free-agent Carlos Hyde, Chubb would give the Niners the edge-rusher they've so desperately needed since Aldon Smith was cut, and Nelson would help keep their investment in Jimmy G on his feet. Then again the two guys they're projected to take at No. 9 also solve needs as Edmunds eases the burden at linebacker in case the situation regarding Reuben Foster gets worse, stemming form his two arrests last month, and Ward would supply the Niner defense with a shutdown corner they've been in search of for years. But after Lynch won over fans and took Draft night by storm a season ago by trading out of the second overall pick to move one spot back with the Chicago Bears, still getting the guy they wanted all along in Solomon Thomas and then trading back into the first round to select Reuben Foster, I know better than to assume anything with this front-office and John Lynch at the helm.
Hoping one day it'll be an important piece of 49ers history as the team still seeks its sixth Super Bowl title and first since the 1994 season, the coin which was used for the toss will be added to the 49ers Museum at Levi's Stadium.
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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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