The San Francisco 49ers came into Sunday’s Bay Area reunion with the Raiders missing Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel, and with Christian Kirk just moved to injured reserve.

That left a passing game in need of someone new to step up, and it was Jordan Watkins who answered.

The second-year receiver from Ole Miss caught all four of the passes thrown his way for a team-high 86 yards, and his first career touchdown helped San Francisco pull away for a 38-17 win that moved them to 7-1.

It was a big moment for a player who was a healthy scratch for the first two weeks of the season.

Watkins went to Kyle Shanahan’s office back in September to ask what he needed to do to get on the field, and he has made the most of every chance since then.

The play that will stay with him came late in the third quarter, right after Fred Warner knocked the ball loose from Michael Mayer at the goal line and wiped out what could have been a Raiders comeback.

Facing third-and-3 at the Las Vegas 37, Brock Purdy threw a strike down the middle. Watkins went up and held on with defensive back Hezekiah Masses hanging on his back, and with 36 seconds left in the quarter, the lead was 35-17.

Watkins said afterward that he had a feeling about that call well before it came in.

He told Brandin Cooks during the first half that “if they call this play, it’s going to be a touchdown in the post,” and it played out just that way after halftime.

It also made up for the Falcons game, when he thought he had his first touchdown, until a replay review overturned it.

The rest of his day backed that up, with an earlier 24-yard catch over the middle keeping a first-half touchdown drive going, and a 19-yard grab in the third quarter helping flip field position.

Shanahan, who is famously slow to trust young receivers, was clear about what he saw. He called the performance “a huge step forward” and said Watkins has improved every week since his first real snaps against Arizona.

He was also honest that it wasn’t a perfect day, since Watkins was flagged for a false start early on.

Still, Shanahan kept coming back to the conversion that turned into the touchdown. “That third down was huge,” he said.

He added that when injuries hit, the staff wanted to give Watkins this opportunity, and that “he’s really stepped it up and given us a lot of confidence, too.”

Purdy had his own milestone on Sunday, throwing his 100th career touchdown pass in only his 57th regular-season game.

He said he didn’t know about it until he got to the locker room and called it “really cool.” When the subject turned to Watkins, Purdy said his trust in the young receiver keeps growing and that he’s excited about what Watkins can do for the rest of the season.

The trade deadline is Tuesday, and Evans is dealing with Achilles tendinitis, and Watkins just gave the front office one more reason to believe the answer at receiver might already be on the roster.