Klay, Klint Kubiak bring brotherly stakes to 49ers-Raiders

Playbook: Las Vegas Raiders (4-4) at San Francisco 49ers (6-1)

Welcome to the Kubiak Bowl, Round … 8?

By the California Post’s calculation, the sons of Super Bowl-winning head coach Gary Kubiak have squared off seven previous times on opposite sidelines in various NFL coaching roles.

Preseason. Postseason. Regular season. It all counts when it’s between brothers.

As Klay, in his second season as 49ers offensive coordinator, and Klint, eight games into his tenure as Raiders head coach, continue to climb the ladder, the stakes of the brotherly showdown only seem to grow every time their teams meet.

Klint will march his Las Vegas team into Levi’s Stadium on Sunday looking to revive the energy of its 3-0 start against Klay and head coach Kyle Shanahan, who have the 49ers humming on all cylinders.

It will be the first time either Kubiak brother has been a head coach in any of their matchups.

Scoreboard: Klay 4, Klint 3.

Like Shanahan, who followed in the footsteps of his Super Bowl champion father, Mike Shanahan, the brothers grew up around their dad’s teams and caught the coaching bug. But as two offensive minds, they don’t exactly get to game-plan against each other.

They’ll leave that up to their respective defensive coordinators. Raheem Morris and Rob Leonard should both have their hands full. Las Vegas has put up the third-most passing yards and sixth-most points in the NFL with Kirk Cousins under center and Klint calling plays.

“We talk about surface-level stuff. We’re not sharing secrets or anything like that,” Klay said last year, as he prepared for the 49ers’ Week 18 matchup against the Seahawks, where Klint eventually won the Super Bowl as the offensive coordinator. “But we talk about how life’s going, how work’s going, just relationship stuff that involves football … things outside football, too. A little bit here and there but not too much, not too much X’s and O’s.”

Any familial familiarity has mostly been a wash in their previous meetings.

For the most part, the 49ers have done a good job shutting down offenses that run a version of Shanahan’s motion-oriented West Coast system. Klint’s offenses have averaged 12.7 points in six previous meetings against San Francisco; the outlier was the 41-6 thrashing a beaten-up Niners defense took the last time the brothers faced off in a game that counted.

Taking off-field victories into account, the ledger swings even in favor of Klint. Both brothers interviewed for the Raiders’ head coaching job this offseason, and Las Vegas opted for seniority.

History suggests Klay will get his chance sooner or later.

After all, when Klint left after his single season as the 49ers’ passing game coordinator, who did Shanahan choose as his replacement? Their assistant quarterbacks coach who just happened to be related to him. A year later, Klay was promoted as Shanahan’s first OC since 2021.

The last time the brothers shared the field was in August at Allegiant Field. It was the final week of the preseason, and few starters played many snaps for either side. Still, Klint said of his little bro heading into the game, “I love him. But I’m not going to love him on Thursday night.”

Those emotions should be dialed up to a thousand on Sunday.

Brotherly bragging rights are on the line.

Marquee matchup: DeForest Buckner vs. Spencer Burford

Buckner could hardly be greeted by a more favorable matchup in his 49ers (re-)debut, should the 49ers try to exploit their former lineman. Burford has been the fourth-worst pass-protecting starting interior lineman in the NFL this season, according to Pro Football Focus’ grades. He’s allowed 19 pressures on 309 dropbacks, third most in the league (one behind the 49ers’ starting left guard Connor Colby, who’s second). Kirk Cousins is typically a quick operator in Klint Kubiak’s West Coast system, and the 49ers’ defensive line is coming off its least effective game of the season, generating three pressures and no sacks in the loss at Atlanta before the bye. But with the addition of Buckner and possibly further reinforcements, it’s primed to shine.

Webeck’s winner: 49ers 42, Raiders 13

All of the pieces are in place for a Niners romp. Freshly rested coming off a bye, healthier than they’ve been in weeks and fired up to get off to the right start with DeForest Buckner in tow. The Raiders got their first win in five weeks last Sunday, but they still allowed the Jets to put 33 points. It could be a truly epic offensive day for Shanahan’s guys.

Key stat: 35.2

The average number of points the Raiders allowed while going 1-4 over their past five games, the worst stretch for any NFL defense this season.