The San Francisco 49ers and Las Vegas Raiders are set to face off on Sunday at Levi's® Stadium. It will be the first time the Raiders have played a regular season game in Santa Clara since 2018, before the franchise moved from Oakland to Las Vegas.
The matchup connects two franchises that once hailed from opposite sides of the bay. The shared history of the 49ers and Raiders includes Hall of Fame players, Hall of Fame coaches, and stadiums.
Shared Stadiums
Kezar Stadium was home to the 49ers in their inaugural season in 1946. In 1960, the Raiders also played their first home game there. But that's not where the stadium connection ends.
The Raiders played at Candlestick Park 11 years before the 49ers would make it their home.
After playing their first four home games of the 1960 season at Kezar Stadium, the Raiders moved their final three home games that season to the brand-new Candlestick Park. Candlestick opened in 1960 as the home of the San Francisco Giants, who moved from New York in 1958.
The Raiders played at Candlestick through the end of the 1961 season. They then moved across the bay to Oakland's Frank Youell Field, before the Oakland Coliseum opened in 1966. The 49ers began playing at Candlestick in 1971.
Coaches Who Crossed the Bay
Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh began his professional coaching career as an assistant coach on the Oakland Raiders in 1966, the team's first season at the Oakland Coliseum. Thirteen years later, after seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, San Diego Chargers, and Stanford University, the 49ers hired Walsh as their head coach. He went on to win three Super Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
Jim Harbaugh was the Raiders quarterbacks coach in 2002 and 2003. He then left the NFL to coach the University of San Diego and later Stanford. In 2011, he became the head coach in San Francisco, where he was named AP NFL Coach of the Year in his first season and led the 49ers to Super Bowl XLVII two years later.
Players Who Wore Both Uniforms
While Walsh and Harbaugh both coached for the Raiders before leading the 49ers, several notable 49ers players later made the same trip in reverse, joining the Raiders after successful careers in San Francisco.
After a storied career with the San Francisco 49ers, WR Jerry Rice played four seasons with the silver and black before finishing his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks. And Rice wasn't the only 49ers great to suit up for the Raiders.
Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott played for San Francisco from 1981 to 1990 and the Los Angeles Raiders from 1991 to 1992 before finishing his career with the New York Jets. RB Roger Craig, a member of the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, played for the 49ers from 1983 to 1990 and spent the 1991 season with the Raiders before playing for the Minnesota Vikings.
Memorable Matchups
Although both are longstanding franchises, the 49ers and Raiders have met only 15 times in the regular season, with San Francisco winning eight of those games.
One memorable matchup came in the 1970 regular season finale. The newly established NFC West title was at stake and the 49ers held a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Rams, needing a win over the Raiders to win the division.
San Francisco trailed 7-3 after the first quarter but scored 35 unanswered points to win 38-7 and clinch the division. QB John Brodie, a future Hall of Famer, threw for 171 yards and three touchdowns and was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player that season. The team also featured future Hall of Famers Dave Wilcox at linebacker and Jimmy Johnson at cornerback.
LB Fred Warner was a rookie the last time the Raiders played a regular season game in Santa Clara, when the team was still based in Oakland. Speaking to reporters in the locker room Wednesday, Warner said friends had been reaching out about the excitement surrounding the matchup.
"It's exciting for me because I know it's exciting for the fans," Warner said. "It means a lot, even though they aren't in Oakland anymore. They're the 'Oakland Raiders' this week."
When the 49ers and Raiders meet Sunday, they'll add another chapter to a rivalry shaped by decades of shared history.
