The Biggest Decision Kubiak Got Right vs. 49ers in Week 9

The Las Vegas Raiders have lost four of their last five games after starting the season 3-0. Las Vegas' Week 9 road matchup against the San Francisco 49ers was a long day on both sides of the ball for the Silver and Black, as they fell behind early and were unable to catch up.

Las Vegas' Week 9 loss looked eerily similar to most of their other four losses. A slow first half led to a panicked second-half effort that was simply too little, too late. Slow starts have been one of the biggest issues for the Raiders this season.

Raiders Must Take Control

Las Vegas struggled in many regards against an elite 49ers team. Klint Kubiak noted that a subpar first half put the Raiders on their heels. They had a chance to mount a comeback in the second half, but that was quickly ended, largely by their own mistakes.

“Overall, you look at just the play count. It was like 38 to 16 or 38 to 17. That’s the exact opposite of how you want time of possession to go in a first half. But then you get the game to 21 to 11 with the ball coming right back to you, and you put yourself in position and we turned the ball over five times in the second half as an offense,” Kubiak said on Monday.

“So, that’s not going to give you opportunities to win any games. Even late in the game, defense gets an interception, we get a stop on fourth down, and there’s two chances to make that a 28-24 ballgame, and we turn the football over. So, shot ourselves in the foot.”

The Decision

The biggest decision that Kubiak and the Raiders got right against the 49ers was deferring until the second half after winning the coin toss. Although Las Vegas lost in blowout fashion, the sequence of events showed that even when it starts poorly, it can work out in the Raiders' favor later.

After the 49ers received the opening kickoff, they proceeded to march right down the field against Las Vegas' defense. The Raiders were down by a touchdown when their offense took the field for the first time on Sunday. Then, their offense quickly punted the ball back to San Francisco.

The 49ers marched the ball down the field again, jumping out to an early 14-0 lead. It could not have been a worse start for Las Vegas on either side of the ball. Still, shortly before halftime, Las Vegas connected on a long field goal to stay afloat. Las Vegas was only down by 11 at halftime.

Las Vegas started the second half with the ball, but Kirk Cousins threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Still, starting the second half with the ball put the Raiders in a position to compete, even after a bad start. Not scoring hurt; scoring for the other team all but ended the game.

Few other decisions made on Sunday against the 49ers that had as much of an impact as that one call. The Raiders faced a superior 49ers team that was also coming off of its Bye Week. Las Vegas could have done little to realistically avoid the outcome.

However, if they win the coin toss, deferring to the second half bodes well for a Raiders team that has had trouble producing productive first halves of games. It also allows their defense to either set the tone, or shake off any nerves they may have.

It is much better for the Raiders to let their defense take the field first. If they are able to force a punt or even a field goal, it is a win. If they cannot do so, Las Vegas could still potentially get a possession before the end of the first half, in addition to starting the second half with the ball.

Electing to defer until the second half may not seem like a big deal, but they have played better when they do. Las Vegas is undergoing a change of the guard at quarterback, which will change things, but with a rookie quarterback stepping in, deferring until the second half makes even more sense.

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