Cousins' three interceptions bury the Raiders in a 38-17 loss at San Francisco

The deciding stretch

The second half opened with the Raiders already down 21-10, and it took one snap to make that worse. On the first play of the third quarter, with 14:43 on the clock, Kirk Cousins took a six-yard loss, fumbled and recovered at the LV 23. He then threw for Tre Tucker and J.Dugger intercepted it at the LV 35 and ran it back 35 yards for a touchdown. The extra point made it 28-10.

That was one of five Raiders turnovers on the day. Cousins threw three interceptions, and the team gave the ball away on five of its nine drives. San Francisco's offense also ran nine drives and scored on five of them, four for touchdowns.

The Raiders finished with 17 points, and 7 of them came after the pick-six. The 49ers scored 14 more in the third quarter and a field goal in the fourth for 38.

The swing

The Raiders did get one break. At 8:01 of the third quarter, a B.Purdy pass for G.Kittle was intercepted by T.Stukes at the LV 43, and he returned it 26 yards to the SF 31. The play moved win probability five points toward Las Vegas. It was not enough to change the arc of the game.

The largest swing on the sheet came late. At 3:57 of the fourth, Cousins threw deep middle for Tucker and M.Mustapha intercepted it at the SF 27. The model logged it as a 33-point swing against the Raiders, though the Raiders had scored nothing in the fourth and were already behind by at least 18.

The larger problem was the ground game on both sides. San Francisco ran for 190 yards at 4.4 a carry and held the ball for 37:40 to the Raiders' 21:42. The 49ers picked up 27 first downs to the Raiders' 14, and converted 8 of 13 third downs. The Raiders ran for 24 yards at 1.6 a carry and went 0 for 1 on fourth down.

Who moved the needle

Expected points added, or EPA, measures how much each play raised or lowered a team's scoring outlook. By that measure the Raiders averaged minus 0.353 per play against plus 0.194 for San Francisco. Las Vegas ran 47 plays to the 49ers' 66, with a 40 percent success rate to 50 percent.

Cousins finished 22 of 32 for 216 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, a 58.9 passer rating. His passing EPA was minus 12.9 over 32 plays, the worst on the team. Tucker was next at minus 9.2. He caught 4 of 8 targets for 55 yards and was the intended receiver on two of the interceptions in the brief.

Brock Bowers was the one offensive player who produced. He caught 7 of 8 targets for 111 yards and a touchdown, and his 4.0 total EPA led the team. Michael Mayer added 3 catches for 37 yards. Ashton Jeanty carried six times for 25 yards, with a long of 9.

On defense, Nakobe Dean made 18 tackles, 7 of them solo, with one tackle for loss. Quay Walker had 11 and Jeremy Chinn 10. Maxx Crosby had the only sack, two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. The pass rush hit Purdy occasionally, but the run defense gave up 190 yards on the ground.

Where it leaves them

The Raiders are 4-5 with a point differential of minus 30, having scored 238 and allowed 268. They are third in the AFC West behind Denver at 7-2 and Kansas City at 6-2, and ninth in the conference. Only the Chargers, at 0-8, are below them in the division. Las Vegas is 1-3 at home and 3-2 on the road.

The pattern in this game fits a team still working out how to protect the ball and stop the run at the same time. Five giveaways and 38 points allowed are the two numbers that decided it.

Next up is the Seattle Seahawks at home on Sunday, Nov. 15, with a 4:05 PM ET kickoff on CBS. It is the Raiders' fifth home game of the season, and they are 1-3 in the first four.