If you came to Nevada ahead of the joint practice between the Raiders and the 49ers, expecting fireworks? You still got the show. Just not the kind Pete Carroll wanted. The Raiders hit the practice field feeling pretty confident. Their top defensive star was ready to wreak havoc, the 49ers were missing key players, and everything looked set up for a dominant display. But the Raiders have never really been the team you can safely bet on. And this practice proved it. Everything that could’ve gone wrong, did go wrong. And Pete Carroll just got thrown a mountain of concerns at his face ahead of week 1.

Despite Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings being out, Brock Purdy was still out, humiliating the Raiders’ secondary. The man was passing Ricky Pearsall deep and running circles underneath with McCaffrey and Juszczyk. The secondary was left scratching their heads. No answers, no sense of urgency. Joint practice or not, this is not a good look.

The funny part? San Francisco just leaned into what they do best when the wideouts aren’t around. They turn the backs and FB into pass-catching weapons. Even in a limited season, McCaffrey still hauled in 15 catches for 146 yards, and Juszczyk chipped in 19 grabs for 200 yards and 2 TDs last time. Those numbers might not jump off the page, but that’s Kyle Shanahan hunting matchups underneath and hitting those angle and wheel routes. And Carroll couldn’t figure it out.

And oh, Aiyuk and Jennings weren’t the only pieces missing. Trent Williams was in the lineup but didn’t take team reps, and left guard Ben Bartch was out. But somehow, the 49ers were still carving out clean windows for chunk plays, including that deep shot to Pearsall. That’s a nightmare combo: the pass rush isn’t syncing, and the back-seven can’t cover the seams.

The poor display wasn’t even the worst news of the bunch. Dont’e Thornton, who’s been pushing hard for reps all camp, got pulled after “feeling like he got hit in the head a little bit,” and the team didn’t want to risk it. Meanwhile, Jack Bech was mostly bottled up, struggling to make anything happen out there. So yeah, we will reiterate. What could’ve gone wrong, did go wrong.

Amidst the injuries and vanished defense, there was just one positive: Maxx Crosby. And of course, the Raiders let him down.

The Raiders’ defense was holding Maxx Crosby’s back

Maxx Crosby was stomping off that field, seeing red. The guy’s owning one-on-ones, racking up plays that should’ve been sacks, and Tyree Wilson even gets a little shine with one of his own. Meanwhile, the rest of the Raiders’ line was waving the white flag. Trent Williams was barely moving, Ben Bartch was out, and suddenly, your star edge rusher is stuck playing solo. That’s not football, that’s cruel. That’s the definition of letting your star down.

Crosby grinded through a banged-up 2024 and still put up 7.5 sacks. And let’s be for real, that was nowhere near his ceiling. He’s still the sun that everything on this front should be orbiting. Wilson? The guy racked up 4.5 sacks last year and, from camp reports, looks way more comfortable hunting interior matchups. That’s how you cook up real pressure: let No. 98 bend the edge and make sure the other three actually win their one-on-ones inside.

It’s football 101: If the ball comes out on time, the pass rush has to sync with the coverage, or you’re toast. The 49ers threw for 4,424 yards in 2024 at 8.3 yards per attempt. This offense is built to feast on late pressure with quick rhythm and YAC. If your back-seven is even a yard off on their landmarks and your green-dog rules don’t fire on the back, Purdy is just going to live in second-and-short. And those big plays? They’re coming right at you.

And that’s exactly where the Raiders let Maxx Crosby down. The Raiders got the “hard part” from their superstar, and it still wasn’t enough. Crosby’s winning at a crazy rate against a banged-up line, so you expect the rest of the front to ride that momentum. You expect them to get those interior wins, set the simulated pressures, and lock things down.

Instead? San Francisco hits Pearsall deep and grinds the Raiders down with McCaffrey and Juszczyk running right past them, all while Trent Williams is stuck on the sidelines watching the carnage. Yeah, Carroll needs to figure this out.