49ers capitalize on 5 2nd-half takeaways to cruise past Raiders 38-17

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Jaden Dugger set the tone for the second half when he returned an interception from Kirk Cousins on the first play for a touchdown.

Four more takeaways followed for San Francisco and the 49ers spoiled the return to the Bay Area for the Raiders with a 38-17 win Sunday.

“That was honestly the emphasis going into the week,” said linebacker Fred Warner, who forced one fumble and recovered another. “To come out the second half and have five of those was unbelievable. It was guys being in the right spot doing their job.”

San Francisco (7-1) had five takeaways in the second half for the first time since doing it 20 years ago against the Raiders at Candlestick Park.

Brock Purdy threw two touchdown passes and ran for another TD, and Christian McCaffrey to keep the Niners on top of the NFC standings.

The 49ers broke the game open in the third quarter thanks to the opportunistic defense starting on the first play from scrimmage when Dugger returned a pass from Cousins 35 yards for the score.

Las Vegas (4-5) answered on the next drive with a touchdown pass from Cousins to Brock Bowers before the giveaways took over the game.

The Raiders were set up with good field position after Treydan Stukes intercepted Purdy but Warner forced a fumble from Bowers.

Las Vegas stopped Purdy on a fourth down sneak but couldn’t capitalize when Michael Mayer lost a fumble just before crossing the goal line.

Purdy responded with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Watkins to make it 35-17.

Watkins stepped up with star Mike Evans out with Achilles tendinitis and is trying to make a case that he can play a big role if the 49ers don’t make a trade before the deadline Tuesday.

“He’s made a huge step forward,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He hasn’t had his opportunities but guys have been down and he’s been working and he’s been ready for it. He’s been better each week.”

Cousins then threw two interceptions in the fourth, including one that was picked off by Renardo Green in the end zone.

“Sometimes when you get behind, you try to get it all back in one play and it’s hard to be patient,” Cousins said. “I just probably needed to be a little more patient and be OK with not getting it all back at one time, which is hard to do. You want to get your team back in the game quick.”

The Raiders tied an NFL record by allowing at least 30 points in six straight games in the same season, becoming the fifth team ever to do that.

Las Vegas has lost five of those six games following a 3-0 start

“What’s my reaction? I think it’s pretty self explanatory,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “You’re not going to win games if you’re letting up 30 points a game. … We have to be better.”

The 49ers scored touchdowns on their first three drives against an overmatched Raiders defense with McCaffrey scoring on a pass and run and Purdy scoring on a 1-yard run.

Purdy became the 10th quarterback since the merger with at least 100 touchdown passes in his first 57 career games.

“In the moment we’re competing and have a next-play mentality and I didn’t know that was a thing,” Purdy said. “In the locker room when I found out that was pretty cool. That’s something I don’t want to overlook. As a kid if you told me I’d be in the NFL and throw 100 touchdowns, that’s really cool.”

The Raiders scored on a 1-yard sneak by Cousins and a long field goal from Matt Gay to trail 21-10 at the half.

The Raiders played their first regular-season game in the Bay Area since moving from Oakland to Las Vegas after the 2019 season.

There was a larger-than-usual contingent of visiting fans at Levi’s Stadium with many of the old Raiders fans taking advantage of the game near their homes.

Raiders: OL Trey Zuhn left the game in the second half with a concussion.

49ers: Rookie DT Gracen Halton was taken off the field in the fourth quarter on a cart with a broken left ankle that will sideline him for the season. … Green left the game after his interception with a back injury and CB Deommodore Lenoir (foot) also left late.

Raiders: Host Seattle on Sunday.

49ers: Visit Dallas on Sunday.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Gracen Halton (93) is carted off the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)

San Francisco 49ers running back Kaelon Black, right, runs against Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Jermod McCoy (28) during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw (57) celebrates after recovering a fumble against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Justine Willard)

San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha, foreground, intercepts a pass intended for Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker during the second half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) celebrates with wide receiver Jordan Watkins (17) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Kelley L. Cox)

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Coco Gauff defeated fellow American Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 in her first match of the 2026 WTA Finals on Sunday.

Competing in Group 1 of the eight-woman field’s round-robin draw, Gauff improved to 6-5 in her career against Pegula after two hours, 39 minutes at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“I was having a lot of fun today,” the 22-year-old No. 4 seed said after the match, joking she left bits of rubber from her shoes on court. “I had a match point in the second (set) and I didn’t get too down on myself…I think today, the key was just trying to be aggressive, but I also had to run a lot.”

Gauff, who won the WTA Finals in 2024 and was playing her first match in over a month, held serve from 0-40 down at 4-4 in the first set and then earned the lone break of the set in the following game to take early control in the match.

Pegula took a 5-1 lead in the second only to lose five straight games and face match point at 5-6, but she regained control in the subsequent tiebreaker and leveled the match with a forehand return winner.

The momentum swung back towards Gauff in the final set. The two-time Grand Slam champion won the first three games on her way to a 5-2 advantage. A missed overhead from Pegula earned Gauff two more match points, and Gauff let out a celebratory roar after clinching the match on her third opportunity.

Gauff will next face No. 8 seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, who defeated alternate Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-4 in the first match of the day.

Kostyuk, who will face Pegula after both lost their opening round-robin matches, was a late substitute for world No. 1 Elena Rybakina. Rybakina, last year’s WTA Finals winner and this year’s Australian Open and U.S. Open champion was forced to withdraw from the season-ending championships citing a viral illness.

Indian Wells, which is home to the annual BNP Paribas Open, is hosting the WTA Finals after instability in the Middle East led to a move away from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the event had been held since 2024. The WTA Finals is set to move again in 2027 to Charlotte, North Carolina.

See AP’s full tennis coverage here

FILE - Coco Gauff, of the United States, returns the ball to Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, during the women's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, on Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)