Raiders Face A Challenging Family Affair Game Against Niners

The Las Vegas Raiders take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and this will be one of the most challenging games of their season. It’s a mismatch on paper, so the old “Battle of the Bay” rallying cry that applied when the Raiders were back in Oakland won't apply, but the Raiders are going to have to beat at least one of their next three tough opponents if they’re going to stay in contention for a hypothetical playoff berth. 

The first thing that sticks out about this game, according to Levi Edwards of Raiders com, is the family connection. Coach Klint Kubiak will reconnect with his brother Klay, as they were on the 49ers coaching staff together during the 2023 season as the team went to Super Bowl LVIII. 

Klint departed afterward to become offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, but Klay worked his way up under San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan to become the team's offensive coordinator in 2025.

This isn’t new, however, as Edwards pointed out. The Kubiak brothers were on opposing sides in the NFC West last year after Klint Kubiak moved to the Pacific Northwest to become Seattle's offensive coordinator. 

The two teams split their two regular-season matchups, but Klint won the one that mattered, as Seattle prevailed in the playoffs, 41-6 in the NFC divisional round, and they went on to win the  Super Bowl. 

This one will be very different, however. The Raiders will come in as underdogs with a very good offense and a defense that’s been leaking like a sieve, so overcoming that defense will be the challenge. That’s not Kubiak’s side of the ball anymore, but it is his new responsibility as head coach. 

This game could be a track meet, as Edwards also noted. Kubiak has the Raiders ranked sixth in points per game at 27.6, second in passing touchdowns with 19 and 12th in yards per game with 342.4.

But the Niners are more than capable of matching that, as Klay Kubiak has they’re offense humming as well. They’re ranked fourth in points per game at 28.1  and eighth in rushing yards per game (127.4) while allowing the least amount of sacks in the NFL with seven. 

The Raiders have played these kinds of games before, and the key is not getting too far behind early. They were able to do that against the New York Jets on Sunday, then get their offense going to get a huge win, and they'll be looking to do that against San Francisco.