Sebastian Janikowski’s second half kickoff is a touchback and the 49ers will begin at the 20-yard line.
Michael Robinson, in at RB now, gets 4 yards on the first play. Nate Davis, in at QB now, hands off to Robinson, and the rusher gets 12 yards. Ricky Brown slows the bleeding with a nice tackle around the line scrimmage after the defense clogs up the right side. On 2nd and 7, Robinson continues to pound on the Raiders for 6 yards. On 3rd and 1, San Francisco picks up the 1st down with a run up the middle. On a pitch to the edge, Robinson tallies 8 yards. Robinson on the ensuing play, cut backs against the grain, and picks up another 1st down after the run was shut down on the play side. Robinson again on the edge gets a big gain after Slade Norris blows a tackle around the line of scrimmage. DT Ryan Boschetti is getting manhandled in the interior.
Ricky Manning makes a nice tackle on 3rd and 7, stalling Robinson for no gain. Joe Nedney on the ensuing play misses a 51-yard field goal.
Bruce Gradkowski opens the half at QB for the Raiders and bootlegged for 9 yards. Michael Bush gets the first down in the next play with a short run. Gradkowski goes 36 yards down the seam to the rookie TE Brandon Myers on the next play. On 2nd and 8, Gradkowski connects with Myers again to the SF 2 yard line. Oakland faced a 3rd and inches there, and the quarterback sneaked in for a new set of downs to the 1-yard line. Louis Rankin got the call on the next play and was not able to get in the end zone. Gradkowski rolls out on a play-action bootleg and finds Myers again, this time for a touchdown that gives the Raiders a 14-3 lead. The rookie tight end looked smooth and agile during the drive, while Gradkowski looked confident running the team for a second straight week, going 3-for-3 for 44 yards on the drive.
Boschetti plows over a 49er OL on the first play of the next drive, as San Francisco has no gain to start the next drive. Morlon Greenwood had good coverage on J.Finley on the next play, but the 49ers gained 8 yards on the play. The Raiders again pressure Davis and force the young passer to throw away the football. Davis hits J.Hill for 13 yards with Jerome Boyd in coverage. On 2nd and 7, Norris blitzes from the OLB spot and forces the 49er passer into an incompletion. On 3rd and 7, Norris again blitzes and forces the QB out of the pocket, but the 49ers torch the secondary for 26 yards on the pass to D.Walker. Robinson then continues to bulldoze the Raider run defense for a run of 22 yards. Greenwood tackles Robinson as he rushes inside the OAK 5-yard line.
The 3rd quarter ends with the Raiders leading 14-3.
Contact Author: Victor Cotto – SB Report Columnist
