By admin 
The 49ers’ preseason is mercifully over after the vast majority of players expected to contribute Week 1 sat out Thursday’s exhibition finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
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Kyle Shanahan played backup quarterback Mac Jones just two series, giving the rest of the game to likely fourth-stringer Adrian Martinez while it was clear San Francisco’s main objective was to get out of Vegas without any more injured players.
Martinez struggled, completing just 12 of 21 for 130 yards with no touchdowns. But he didn’t have any turnovers and led the offense to four straight field goal drives in the second half, helping San Francisco to an 18-12 victory.
Neither team scored a touchdown, instead combining for 10 field goals. Eddy Piniero went six-for-six for the 49ers, including a make from 59 yards.
Here are our takeaways.
Do the 49ers have an issue along the interior?
San Francisco is coming into the season with a lot riding on second-year defensive tackles Alfred Collins and CJ West.
It’s not a great sign that both players were getting snaps well into the second half.
Collins had offseason shoulder surgery and has struggled on the practice field and in games. He was credited with one assisted tackle, while West had one tackle and one assist. The Raiders averaged 4.2 yards per carry, while their top running back in the game, Mike Washington Jr., picked up 49 yards on eight carries, good for a 6.1-yard average.
It’s likely that West or Collins will be among the starting 11 in the regular season opener against the Rams, Sept. 10 in Australia. But neither has played well enough to get Thursday off — and they didn’t offer much to be excited about going into the regular season.
Is the left guard battle over?
The only true position battle of training camp is along the interior of the offensive line, where it appears rookie fourth-round pick Carver Willis is the favorite to earn the job. Willis also played deep into the game, though it makes sense given he came into the NFL having played tackle exclusively in college at Washington. He could use every rep he can get at guard.
There’s also a chance the battle never fully materialized. Robert Jones has missed the last two weeks with a calf injury after getting work with the starters. Offseason addition Brett Toth has been out for most of camp with a concussion.
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The offensive line wasn’t great, but it only allowed one sack, and the 49ers amassed 146 yards on 33 rushes, good for 4.4 per attempt.
Running backs impressing
The 49ers appear to have their best, and deepest, running back group since Christian McCaffrey’s arrival.
With Kaelon Black and Jordan James, there’s no need to trade for a backup like San Francisco did last year by adding Brian Robinson Jr. just before the start of the regular season.
Black continued to look explosive after making his preseason debut last week against the Chargers. On Thursday he only had four carries, but ripped off 28 yards and looks to have a strong hold on McCaffrey’s primary backup job.
James made his preseason debut after missing time in training camp with a rib injury. He had 35 yards on eight carries and added a 20-yard gain on a screen pass in which he made a defender miss with a nifty cut to the middle of the field.
Jordan Watkins making the decision tough
The 49ers have some questions to answer at receiver ahead of final roster cuts on Sunday. Watkins had just one catch for 5 yards in the first half, while looking lost on an opening drive deep ball from Jones.
But he added three more catches for 59 yards in the second half and finished leading the team in catches and yardage.
Jacob Cowing didn’t play after missing recent practices due to a groin injury, his second injury of training camp. Which could leave the door open for Watkins if Cowing can’t get healthy in time for the regular season opener.
Cowing is clearly the team’s best option at punt returner, while Watkins has been shaky there during practice. The locks at the position appear to be Mike Evans, De’Zhaun Stribling, Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson. Malik Turner is a valuable gunner on special teams, while Cowing would presumably be the top option in the return game.
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Whether Watkins makes it could come down to numbers at other positions.