As we head into week six of the 2010 NFL season, we get the chance for the rare regular season Battle of the Bay between the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers. In years past both teams' fan bases generally looked down their collective noses at the opposing team and its fans. While the regular season games don't occur frequently enough for it to be a super intense on-field rivalry, the fans still have a general distaste for each other.
This year, Raiders fans would appear to have a little leverage in the battle. The Raiders are coming off a win that snapped a 13-game losing streak to the San Diego Chargers. The Raiders sit at 2-3 in an AFC West division showing some signs of life. The Raiders jettisoned Jamarcus Russell and while Jason Campbell hasn't exactly lit things up, he's not Jamarcus Russell. However, the rushing game is putting up big numbers and the passing defense is looking solid.
On the other side we've got the San Francisco 49ers. After a stunning 0-5 start, the 49ers are officially a franchise in turmoil. Although there have been some small positives to the season, things really could not have started off much worse. Head Coach Mike Singletary is on the hot seat, QB Alex Smith is on the verge of being benched, and team owner/president Jed York is sending texts to ESPN claiming the team will win the division. Considering I'm a 49ers fan, in years past I'd say, "Wait, isn't this the Raiders we're talking about?"
Generally, for each week of the NFL season we have separate 49ers and Raiders story streams for their respective matchups. However, with the two teams squaring off this week we thought it would be fun to have a single stream for all your Raiders and 49ers coverage. It's a unique matchup which calls for a unique stream. We'll be here all week with all your necessary updates for this matchup.
Loading comments...