Cousins throws three picks as five turnovers sink Raiders 38-17 at 49ers

Eleven points down at halftime is survivable. What the Raiders did after halftime is not.

Las Vegas lost 38-17 at the 49ers on Sunday and turned the football over five times, every single giveaway coming after the break in a game that sat at 21-10 when the teams went in. The team's own game recap counted all five in the second half. Las Vegas drops to 4-5. San Francisco is 7-1.

The third quarter was the whole ledger. Kirk Cousins bobbled the opening snap, picked it up and underthrew Tre Tucker, and linebacker Jaden Dugger took it 35 yards the other way. Brock Bowers then lost a screen pass when Fred Warner punched the ball loose for Dre Greenlaw. Michael Mayer followed with a fumble at the 1-yard line after a 24-yard catch, Upton Stout knocking it out and Warner recovering in the end zone for a touchback. Cousins finished with 216 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, per 49ers Webzone, his first three-interception game since Week 13 of 2024. Bowers still led the receivers with seven catches for 111 yards and a score.

Mayer didn't hide from his. "That football is my entire life," he said. "So for me to fumble the football like that, that close to the end zone is totally unacceptable."

Klint Kubiak pointed at the shape of the game rather than the hands. "When you're in position to throw the ball every down, starting in the second quarter, you're going to throw interceptions," he said. "So we have to find balance on our team, that's not a new topic." He's right that it isn't new. The Raiders ran 15 times for 24 yards. ProFootballTalk's Michael David Smith noted that Ashton Jeanty caught five passes for minus-5 yards, which is not a typo. The 49ers ran for 190.

Opinion, and labelled as such: the balance Kubiak wants isn't available to him. You can't run to protect a quarterback when the run returns nothing, and the defense has now allowed at least 30 points in six straight games. The arithmetic only works one way.

The trade deadline is Tuesday. Maxx Crosby, asked about the speculation around him, told reporters he pays it no mind: "I play for the Raiders. I expect to play for the Raiders, and that's all that matters to me." Whether the front office reads 4-5 the same way is the next thing to watch, with Seattle due at Allegiant on Nov. 15.