LAS VEGAS – If only Brock Purdy’s incompletion to Ricky Pearsall at the goal line was the 49ers’ worst thing that happened in Saturday’s first half of a preseason visit to the Raiders.
Instead, right guard Dominick Puni sustained a knee injury while blocking on an opening-drive field goal.
Then came more pain to the 49ers’ already battered roster: rookie running back Corey Kiner got carted off with a left ankle injury after a 19-yard run into Raiders territory.
Add in a Jake Moody missed field goal, and, well, the 49ers weren’t enjoying the loveliest of afternoons off the Vegas strip.
Purdy and other Week 1 offensive starters got pulled after their opening series. Defensively, the 49ers were down to only a few healthy starters before kickoff, and one of them, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, got bulled at one point by Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty.
The 49ers kept out only a few projected Week 1 starters who are healthy: left tackle Trent Williams, running back Christian McCaffrey, linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa, the latter of whom went through a pregame workout and looked unhindered by neck soreness that ruled him out of Thursday’s joint practice.
Puni’s knee injury could have the biggest impact of this game. It happened when Matt Hennessy got driven backward into Puni’s right knee while Jake Moody made a 30-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
Puni played all but one snap last season as a surprise rookie, and he isn’t the only starting guard who’s hurt. Ben Bartch, the projected starter at left guard, is sidelined by an elbow injury.
Rookie Connor Colby started at left guard this game, and Nick Zakelj took over at right guard after the opening series. The 49ers potentially could move Spencer Burford back inside, though he’s spent all year transitioning from a guard to potentially Trent Williams’ backup at left tackle.
The running back depth already was tested before Kiner’s sad exit. Injuries this camp to Isaac Guerendo (shoulder) and Jordan James (finger) prompted the 49ers to bring in Ke’Shawn Vaughn and Jeff Wilson Jr., the latter of whom scored a 1-yard touchdown run Saturday just five days after his signing.
Purdy impressed in his debut after missing his third straight preseason opener. He opened 5-for-5 passing, completing his first three to Pearsall, including a 21-yard conversion on third-and-18. Completions to Isaiah Hodgins and Demarcus Robinson got the 49ers to the 13-yard line, then Robinson bobbled a pass that nearly got intercepted at the 5-yard line, and a Purdy scramble safely out of bounds, he threw a third-and-9 pass toward Pearsall, who instead cut inside on his route.
Injuries prompted the 49ers to start a patchwork defensive front, and Geno Smith took advantage from the jump with a play-action pass that found Brock Bowers for a 28-yard gain down the right sideline against safety Ji’Ayir Brown. Bryce Huff started at left defensive end and couldn’t shake the block of right tackle D.J. Glaze while Smith stepped into his throw.
Huff, who the 49ers are banking on as a speed rusher this season, got better push later in the drive as Smith twice overthrew Dont’e Thornton near the right pylon against Deommodore Lenoir’s coverage. Bolstered by a big hit from Tatum Bethune and a third-down stop from safety Marques Sigle, the 49ers forced the Raiders to also settle for an opening-drive field goal.
Mac Jones completed his first two passes in place of Purdy, but then five snaps into the drive, Jones got intercepted by Jeremy Chinn on a pass intended for Robbie Chosen.
The Raiders converted that interception of Mac Jones into a touchdown run by Ashton Jeanty, who smacks into Ji’Ayir Brown at the goal line and is also hit by Tatum Bethune, appears to fumble just after the score. Earlier on the drive, Jeanty, the Raiders’ top draft pick, bulled over starting cornerback Deommodore Lenoir in the open field then gained five more yards before Brown wrestled him to the ground.
Jake Moody’s 30-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead was quickly forgotten once he pulled a 53-yard attempt wide left three minutes before halftime, stoking memories of his sophomore slump last season.
Among the wounded not suiting up were five draft picks: defensive linemen Mykel Williams (knee) and C.J. West (knee); cornerback Uptown Stout (calf); wide receiver Jordan Watkins (ankle); and, running back Jordan James (finger).
The 49ers’ defensive line was like an open casting call, seeing how injuries prompted the team to sign eight defensive linemen since training camp opened. Huff started alongside Kalia Davis, rookie Alfred Collins and Jonathan Garvin. Out were Bosa, Williams, West, Jordan Elliott (back), Kevin Givens (pectoral), Sam Okuayinonu (adductor), and Robert Beal (adductor).
One inactive 49er who surprisingly caught a few passes from Purdy in pregame: Brandon Aiyuk, who wasn’t in uniform and is on the Physically Unable To Perform list, where he’s likely to start the season until a Week 6 comeback.
Tom Brady, a Raiders minority owner and a Serra High-San Mateo product, watched from the Raiders’ coaches booth on the press-box level.
Originally Published: August 16, 2025 at 12:25 PM PDT