Golden Nuggets: 49ers Season Hits Rock Bottom

The writing on the wall was seen long before this game against the Raiders by many experts and fans. But somehow, there was always that last thin thread of hope that we could hang on to, and the possibility of playoff glory still lingered in the back of our minds. Now, even that has snapped and the 49ers have fallen once again into abyss. Oh mathematically they are still alive, but mentally this team has already given up.

Coach Harbaugh mentioned in his post-game presser that the effort was there, but sadly, the focus and the fire was not. It has not been the easiest of seasons by any NFL standard—with major injuries, coaching uncertainty, front office turmoil, media distractions and an offensive unit that just never made it out of pre-season form. Whatever hope there was that this team had enough heart to overcome all these tests were left on the field at Oakland.

Now the 49ers are left with nothing but their pride, and even that may not be enough to keep them in the game next week against a Seattle team that is surging at the perfect moment. San Francisco is back once again to being the role of spoilers like they were before Harbaugh came. It was a good three year run for him, but it feels over in almost every way except for the fact that there are three games left. If there is one reason to keep from total despair is that Trent Baalke still knows how to find talented players for good value. No matter who the coach is next season, you know that the roster will have quality players who can compete. This is not how I wanted this season to go, but I will still root hard for the now underdog San Francisco 49ers.

Game Recaps

Carr's three touchdown passes help Raiders defeat 49ers (Gin)

Final: 49ers' playoff hopes fade as stunned by Raiders (Inman)

49ers fall to Raiders in ugly performance (Biderman)

Raiders Shock 49ers to Win Battle of the Bay (NBC)

Carr excels, Kaepernick struggles as Raiders upset 49ers (PFT)

Recap: Oakland vs. San Francisco (SacBee)

Raiders win battle of the Bay (NFL)

Raiders kings of the Bay for a day after 24-13 win (SF Gate)

Game Analysis

Gamer: 49ers Fall to Raiders in Oakland (Pentis)

What We Learned from 49ers vs. Raiders (Price)

Rapid Reaction: San Francisco 49ers (Gutierrez)

Raiders bring salt in the wounds to 49ers rough season (Gin)

In tale of two Bay Area teams, 49ers humbled by Raiders (Thompson)

Postgame notes: Culliver's knee ‘alright' while backups yield TDs; Kaepernick explains camera push; Miller scores (Inman)

49ers 13, Raiders 24: Grades (Cohn)

Raiders dent 49ers' playoff hopes in stunner (NFL)

49ers in state of disarray after loss to Raiders crushes playoff hopes (SI)

Spotlights

Colin Kaepernick press conference: 49ers QB (sort of) explains why he shoved a camera away at halftime (BASG)

"GET VERNON THE BALL" t-shirt boosts 49ers TE's spirits after loss to Raiders (BASG)

49ers' season continues to spiral (Gutierrez)

Missed meeting spurs Ahmad Brooks' benching after making every start since 2011 (Inman)

Brooks' down year gets worse for 49ers (Barrows)

Harbaugh's future with 49ers down on list of his priorities (Maiocco)

Jim Harbaugh after the 49ers loss to the Raiders, on the struggles, the mood and his priorities, last of which is his "personal professional future" (Kawakami)

Frank Gore calls 24-13 upset the low point of an ‘off year' (Inman)

Frank Gore: 'I'll Keep Fighting with My Teammates' (49ers)

Raiders rookie Carr outshines Kaepernick in QB duel (Maiocco)

Raiders' Carr outshines 49ers' Kaepernick in Bay Area QB showdown (Purdy)

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