Raiders look to make 49ers regret bold decision in first trip back to the Bay

Somebody ought to buy the 49ers a beer.And yes, that goes for the guy in the old Kenny Stabler jersey who’s spent most of his life rooting for them to lose.When the NFL was putting together its 2026 schedule, it gave serious thought to moving the 49ers’ home game against the Raiders to Mexico City.

The 49ers put their foot down, according to multiple sources.They wanted this one in Santa Clara.Hell yes, they did.

And for anybody who ever walked across the BART bridge on a Sunday morning, caught a whiff of what was cooking in the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum parking lot and figured they’d be making that walk for the rest of their life, what a shame it would have been to play this game anywhere else.For the first time since leaving Oakland for Las Vegas after the 2019 season, the Raiders are coming back to the Bay Area for a game that counts.But not only does it count, it is a crucial game.The Raiders’ season stands in flux.

Are they playing for a playoff spot and making some real noise? Or are they playing for the future, with #1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza taking the reins?Vegas is 4-4, coming off their thrilling 38-33 victory at the Meadowlands against the New York Jets.A fifth straight loss would have likely pushed the team closer to the future.

Instead, they are firmly in the Wild Card mix midway through the season.Beyond that, there is so much history steeped with both franchises up by the bay.They made a preseason visit here in 2021, but try finding a Raiders’ fan who remembers the score.Then ask where they were when Stabler floated one into a sea of Miami Dolphins hands and somehow found the two that belonged to Clarence Davis.Better give yourself some time.For 47 seasons, split around the Raiders’ 13-year detour to Los Angeles, Bay Area football fans had two teams to choose from and roughly half the people they knew to tell them they’d chosen wrong.In the 1960s, Daryle Lamonica was throwing the ball about as far as Al Davis could have wished....