49ers move past preseason win over Raiders as roster-cut decisions near

The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their preseason on Friday with a win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and attention quickly shifted to what comes next: roster cuts. In the final evaluation phase, the team’s decisions will be built less on one drive or one series and more on whether players repeatedly show they can execute under game-speed pressure.

One of the clearer takeaways from the finale was the kicking performance by Eddy Pineiro. According to the team coverage, Pineiro closed the preseason with a perfect showing, a result that matters because special teams roles often become the first tiebreaker when multiple players grade closely in the same week.

The 49ers’ offensive work also produced a specific, coachable moment at the running back position. Coverage described how “Black” benefited from blocking on a 14-yard run on a subsequent drive, but it also highlighted decision-making in short-yardage situations.

The report emphasized that “Black” showed decisiveness on a 3rd-and-1 run last week, while an attempt by Jordan James on 3rd-and-1 in his first action was described as a mistake. The reported issue was that James tried to cut against the grain instead of staying on his path and securing the first down, a type of error that becomes important as the 49ers reduce the roster to players who can make the correct read quickly.

The same coverage said that Black gave way to James in the second quarter, reinforcing that these preseason games are still about player reps and role clarity. For players on the bubble, the value of those reps is not just the yardage, but whether the coaching staff sees improved judgment across successive plays.

As the 49ers head toward the regular-season roster deadline, the broader context is that preseason-winning performances do not automatically translate into final-season security. This stage typically compresses the window for fringe players to prove consistent assignments on offense, defense, and especially special teams.

What to watch next is whether the 49ers can carry the best moments forward while tightening up the parts that show even minor lapses, particularly in short-yardage play execution and the run-read decision-making coaches care about most. For teams trying to start the regular season with fewer question marks, the preseason cutdown period is where the team-building story gets written.