San Francisco 49ers get first win by beating the Oakland Raiders
The San Francisco 49ers are probably still a ways away from winning back their fans after their poor start to the season, but they will be happy they finally got their first win as they beat the Oakland Raiders 17-9 at home on Sunday October 17.
How it happened
The Raiders went into half time up 6-3 as both teams struggled to muster any offence.
It wasn't until San Francisco's second possession of the third quarter that the game opened up a bit when Alex Smith hit Michael Crabtree for a 32-yard strike.
It was running back Frank Gore who led the way for the 49ers with 149 yards rushing on 25 carries, including a 64-yard romp which set up the 49ers' second touchdown of the day: a 17-yard pass from Smith to tight end Vernon Davis capping off a 3-play, 80-yard
drive.
Raiders backup quarterback Jason Campbell, in for the injured Bruce Gradkowski, struggled for the Raiders, completing only eight of 21 passes for 83 yards while throwing two interceptions.
What they're saying
Alex Smith did his best to look at the positives from his team's poor start and how getting that first win is so important.
"You've got to start with one. You've got to start somewhere," he said. "You try to fix the negatives and build on the positives from the last five weeks."
"We've had three really close games this year," Smith added. "A lot of these hurt. Today to go out and play how we did, staring 0-5 in the face, we stayed patient."
Smith's numbers were not outstanding, but this was his first game without throwing an interception – he currently leads the NFL with nine.
The 49ers' tight end Vernon Davis reiterated the importance of finally getting a win when he said, "I feel like I just took a whole house off my back that was weighing us down."
Head coach Mike Singletary also weighed in on the impact of his team getting their first win, "It gives them energy and motivation. Just the perseverance, our guys being able to hang together and stay together in spite of all the other stuff that's going
on, I think it's important."
What it all means
Despite the fact that they won, the San Francisco 49ers still have a long way to go before they are really in the hunt, and the Raiders aren't exactly considered amongst the NFL's stiffest competition. With their first win, only the Buffalo Bills and the
Carolina Panthers (who will host the 49ers next week) remain win-less on the season.
At 2-4, the Raiders can't exactly brag about how well they're doing, but they do benefit from being in a division that has only one team (the Kansas City Chiefs) with a record over .500. They take on the Denver Broncos who are also 2-4 next week in Denver.
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