Fujinami was posted by the Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan last month, and the A’s have agreed to bring him in on a one-year deal pending a physical, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Terms of the deal have not been reported and the team has not yet announced the signing.

The 28-year-old Fujinami is expected to join the A’s rotation, according to Passan, but CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson cited scouting sources projecting him as a high-velocity reliever.

He throws mostly an upper-90s four-seam fastball and a splitter, which is his best strikeout pitch, though he also has used a slider in the past.

Fujinami would slot into an A’s rotation that includes 2022 All-Star Paul Blackburn and Cole Irvin. Last year’s team rotated through a number of young starters to fill out the back half of the rotation, and the 2023 Athletics might well do the same as they aren’t expected to compete for the AL West.

Last month, the A’s also signed righty Drew Rucinski, who returns to MLB for the first time since 2018 following a strong season in Korea, so he will be in the mix for a rotation spot. Rucinski, 34, reportedly agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal. He made 66 appearances, mostly as a reliever, from 2014-18 with the Angels, Twins and Marlins.

According to posting rules, the team has until Saturday afternoon to sign Fujinami before his rights would return to Hanshin. The A’s must agree to a posting fee with the NPB team in addition to coming to terms with Fujinami on his salary.

Fujinami was a phenom once considered a rival to Shohei Ohtani in high school and made the jump directly to the pros. He posted two seasons of sub-3.00 ERA ball before age 22, including a 2.75 ERA with 126 strikeouts over 137 2/3 innings as a 19-year-old rookie.

His career took a dip as he struggled with command while adjusting to the professional game, but at age 28 last season, he had somewhat of a renaissance, posting a 2.77 ERA and striking out 115 batters against just 36 walks over 107 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox were also among the teams tied to Fujinami.

Fujinami becomes the second player to sign with the A’s out of Japan in the past three years. Shohei Tomioka, a 26-year-old who pitched for the A’s High-A team in Midland last year, was signed in January 2020 after attending an open tryout in Japan the A’s had advertised on Twitter. Tomioka was a pitcher for a Japanese industrial league team at the time.

Fujunami, though, becomes the third free agent to ever join Oakland directly from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League. Neither of the two previous A’s signings from the NPBL made much of an impact for them – 36-year-old right-hander Keiichi Yabu, signed for $1 million in 2005 and 30-year-old infielder Hiroyuki Nakajima, signed a 2-year, $6.5 million deal in 2013.

Yabu went 4-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 40 relief appearances before being released at the end of the 2005 season. He later caught on with the Giants and went 3-6 with a 3.57 ERA in 60 games with San Francisco.

The slick-fielding Nakajima never made it to the majors. He spent two seasons with the A’s Triple-A team in Sacramento, batting .268 with an OPS of .667 in 102 games.

Jon Becker contributed to this story.

White was seen on video released last week by TMZ slapping his wife, Anne, while the two were on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, last month.

In an open letter to Ari Emmanuel, the CEO of Endeavor, the company that owns UFC, the caucus wrote: “Every day that Mr. White’s actions go unaccounted for, your silence becomes more piercing and troubling.”

Endeavor, UFC and Emmanuel have not publicly commented on the incident since the video surfaced.

The letter was signed by caucus chairperson State Sen. Nancy Skinner, who represents the East Bay’s 7th District, and vice chair Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who represents the 4th Assembly District that encompasses much of Wine Country. Both are Democrats but the caucus is bipartisan.

“Mr. White is not only the external face of the UFC, he is the leader who sets the expectations for the athletes as well,” the letter read. “He is the leader who has explained in years past that he stands firmly against domestic violence. If an athlete were to commit violence against their partner, Mr. White is the leader within UFC who will have to determine the consequence.”

White told TMZ in an interview last week that he was “embarrassed” and concerned for how his three children were affected.

“You’ve heard me say for years, ‘There’s never ever an excuse for a guy to put his hands on a woman,’ and now here I am on TMZ talking about it,” White told the website.

UFC spokesman Chris Costello said last week that neither the organization nor White would issue a statement to The Associated Press. Costello referred to White’s comments to TMZ.

The video shows the couple arguing before Anne White slaps her husband, who slaps back before others intervene.

“Dana and I have been married for almost 30 years,” Anne White said in a statement to TMZ. “To say this is out of character for him is an understatement — nothing like this has ever happened before. Unfortunately, we were both drinking too much on New Year’s Eve and things got out of control on both sides. We’ve talked this through as a family and apologized to each other. I just hope people will respect our privacy for the sake of our kids.”

TBS and UFC, which were set to premiere Dana White’s ill-timed new Power Slap League on Wednesday, have postponed the debut of that venture until Jan. 18.

With their star back against the Phoenix Suns, the Warriors were able to field their regular starting lineup of Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney for the first time since Dec. 2.

This also meant Jordan Poole returned to the bench for the first time in 17 games.

Curry, 34, had missed 11 games since suffering a partial separation of his left shoulder Dec. 14 in Indiana. The Warriors were relieved when an MRI confirmed Curry wouldn’t need surgery after he hurt it trying to strip the ball from Jalen Smith. But it was another massive blow to the starting lineup that was already without Wiggins, who had been sidelined by a groin injury.

With those two guys out, and the Warriors sitting below .500, it was sink or swim time for the reigning champions who had struggled to gain any momentum to start their title defense.

It got ugly for Golden State before the team managed to stabilize itself once returning home.

The Warriors hit rock bottom in New York after suffering back-to-back blowout losses to the Knicks and Nets, but they bounced back in the Bay, opening their eight-game homestand with a season-long five game winning streak. Heading into Tuesday’s game, Golden State had lost the last two games to the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, a pair of bottom-feeding Eastern Conference teams, dropping the Warriors to 20-20.

The Warriors went 6-5 without Curry and coach Steve Kerr lauded his team’s perseverance and ability to stay afloat while playing without Curry and Wiggins, who returned Saturday after missing 15 games.

“They were able to hold down the fort,” Kerr said. “To go 6-5 without Steph is an accomplishment and difficult circumstances also missing Wiggs… So really proud of the team. They put us in a good spot but we lost two straight home games so [Tuesday] is a big game for us and I think our guys know our guys have to be locked in and ready to go and we’ve got to find some momentum at the halfway mark.”

With Wiggins and Curry both back, the Warriors are still not whole again. They’re still missing JaMychal Green (right leg infection), Jonathan Kuminga (right foot sprain) and James Wiseman (left ankle sprain), who were ruled out for Tuesday’s game.

Meanwhile, the Suns will be without stars Devin Booker (left groin strain) and Chris Paul (right hip soreness), and fellow starters Deandre Ayton (left ankle sprain) and Torrey Craig (right ankle sprain) are listed as questionable, as is rotation guard Landry Shamet with a right hip injury.

Ring him

Curry returned just in time to present Damion Lee his championship ring.

Before the game, the brothers-in-law Curry and Lee posed together at halfcourt as Lee received a loud roar from the home crowd in his first return back to Chase Center since signing with the Suns in free agency.

Lee has carved himself a nice role in Phoenix and has shot a whopping 48% from 3 this season.

The latest of JaMychal Green

Kerr shared an update on Green as he ramps up to return to play after being out for more than three weeks.

Green entered the league’s health and safety protocols Dec. 20 before later suffering an infection in his right leg that required him to go to the hospital. Due to the infection, Green was unable to break a sweat and “basically did nothing for over two weeks,” Kerr said.

Green has been shooting on the practice court and working in the weight room but hasn’t been cleared to return to practice with the team yet.

“It’s almost like for training camp, just making sure he’s ready to compete and to practice at a high level,” Kerr said.

The Warriors plan to have an update on Green, Kuminga and Wiseman Thursday.

Brock Purdy threw three touchdown passes — two to George Kittle — and the 49ers’ running back duo of Elijah Mitchell (two rushing TDs) and Christian McCaffrey (one receiving score) also scored three times to solidify the blowout win.

Kittle’s two touchdowns bring his total for the season to 11 scores, seven of which have come over the last four weeks from the rookie Purdy.

The San Francisco defense allowed a trick-play touchdown pass to A.J. Green on the second play of the game, but held Arizona’s offense full of backups to seven points over the remaining 59 minutes. Defenders also capitalized on mistakes from the Cardinals as Tashaun Gipson Sr. intercepted David Blough twice, then Jordan Willis forced a Blough fumble that Michael Dwumfour recovered and, finally, George Odum intercepted Blough’s replacement, Trace McSorley.

The 49ers head to the playoffs for a second straight year. Here’s what they had to say after the win.

Kyle Shanahan

On whether he got sideline updates about other games:

No, got no updates. When I came in, saw them kick an onside kick so that ended pretty fast.

On how he feels about the team:

I feel real good. I felt real good about our team when we won the division there about a month ago and I feel better about them now. I think we’ve gotten better since that point.

On any trouble taking Bosa out on the edge of a team record in sacks:

A little bit but I think the bigger one — hopefully he finished leading the league. He did, right? Hassan did get many? It would have been nice to get the franchise record, too, but you know, Aldon did a hell of a job and I think Nick’s pretty happy with leading the league this year.

On the Hamlin situation:

It was emotional watching the Buffalo game. I got to see some of that this morning. I thought was so cool watching the national anthem. I mean, those are his brothers … Watching Buffalo, you could see the emotion and it was unbelievable to see that opening kickoff return.

On how to spread the ball around to Samuel, McCaffrey and Mitchell:

Just keep doing it the same way we’ve done it when they have been in or when they haven’t been in. We balance it out, we spread it around and we see how it ends up at the end of the game.

On defensive mistakes:

I try not to say anything in here that makes it look like I’m too negative but we’re gonna go in there and correct everything. I mean, there was things with the offense I didn’t like today. There are always things that you see. I think the big plays have hurt us lately. They had that trick play on that first drive, launch the ball up to A.J. Green, who’s as good of a 50/50 guy as there is.

On how soon he corrects Purdy on mistakes:

As soon as he was on the ground and I was yelling in his ear.

On Gipson:

He’s come in here and he’s been kind of the wisdom of our defense. I mess around with him, call him Dad sometimes, which he’s not. But he’s been so consistent, always putting that top, the backstop on our defense. He’s got great ball skills — he always has. … Jimmie, whether he’s an all-pro safety or an All-Pro nickel, it’s been great to be able to have Jimmy there.

On J.J. Watt:

I was very upset with him all game because he’s still unbelievable. I mean, he was a problem throughout the game for us … For him to have his moment where he could walk off and I mean, I think everyone in this country respects the hell out of him for what he’s done on and off the field and he’s an all-time great.

Brandon Aiyuk

On reaching 1,000 yards:

That’s what you think about when you train in the offseason, when you’re sitting at home throwing the ball up in the air as a kid on the bed.

On getting the No. 2 seed and the Eagles winning to clinch the No. 1:

That didn’t go our way but we still handled our own business and we’re excited to be able to get home games here.

On struggles early in the season vs. great offense now:

We were just looking for our flow, pretty much the how. How we were going to get it done. I think midway through the season, Week 7 or 8, after the bye week, we kind of settled in. Everybody understood their role, what we wanted to do as an offense.

On the team succeeding with transition to Garoppolo and to Purdy:

That’s a credit to those guys in the room, in the quarterback room and how they prepare.

Brock Purdy

On leading and being vocal:

I’m hard on myself so it starts with myself. I feel like I had to do my part and be better early on before I could say something to anyone else.

On the playoffs:

We’re at the point in the season where it’s, man, regular season is over and now the tournament starts and this is, you know, the real ball that really matters. Every single day is going to be vital in terms of getting better and being able to understand what our opponent’s going to be doing.

On how he’s feeling on the win streak:

I feel great. I feel like everyone’s feeling great when you’re on a roll, you’re on a winning streak. You feel like, man, you know, the groove and how you’re playing together. It feels real good when we’re playing on it. I think a lot of us are real with ourselves, too, though. I feel like we still haven’t played to our full potential.

On throwing while moving left:

Throwing on the run for me is part of my game so, if that’s going left, if that’s going right, it really don’t matter to me.

On getting guys back:

Once we’re all in rhythm and in sync, then I feel like we can play to our full potential.

On if the NFL is easier in some ways with surrounding talent:

I feel like the games are a little different. But right now it’s like man, I got so many playmakers around me, I feel like I don’t have all the weight in the world on my shoulders to make something up or plays.

Tashaun Gipson Sr.

On his interceptions:

We knew they was going to be aggressive by the way that they came out within the first couple of plays, so it was just one of those, you go up and attack the ball. But the second one when the ball was up there and man, it was up there for a minute. I kind of bobbled it a little bit — man, I wouldn’t have been able to live that down.

On coming off the street to start and contribute:

It’s so humbling … It’s my first time spending my birthday at home. I didn’t envision being at home on my birthday in August, so to be here now, man it’s just glory to God because I came in the right situation at the right time and everything just worked out.

On if he thinks his interceptions are divine intervention:

I’m a praying man, you know, honestly I wouldn’t be here without God, obviously. I guess you could say that, glory be to Him. The ball is finding me, so somehow some way I got to credit somebody.

Fred Warner

On feeling entering playoffs:

I feel amazing, honestly. It’s a blessing to make the playoffs and to have the opportunity that we have, seriously. I don’t know that I’ve had this feeling that I have right now about our team and the opportunity that we have to go win this thing. … We have some things obviously to clean up on defense, as with every week, but we have everything that we need on this team to do what we want to do this postseason.

On Damar Hamlin:

It was something that was on my mind and it was amazing to see all the love and support for Damar and the shirts, obviously, everybody’s wearing … so happy and so grateful that you know, the prayers are being heard and that he’s making a recovery like he is. I mean, it’s truly a miracle.

On the playoffs:

It’s a one-game season every week, and obviously now more than ever, that’s what this is, right, win or go home.

On thinking back to last loss:

It does feel like a long time, and we’ve gone through tons of stuff since then, seriously. Even though we have won every single one of those games, you look at ways that we’ve had to find to win through this 10-game stretch. It’s all about peaking at the right time and I feel like we’re doing that.

George Kittle

On connection with Purdy:

I could be punny and talk about Iowa but, you know, I think we’ve had all the plays that we’ve called it like designed to go to me. Brock’s done a great job … when the play breaks down, he does such a good job of keeping his eyes up and he always looks for me in the back of the end zone.

On the streak:

The 10-game win streak is awesome, it’s really fun. It means nothing now at this point. We know it got us in a position to secure the two-seed, so we get to play at home for two weeks.

On playing in a high-powered offense:

It’s awesome. It’s fun, more touchdowns for everybody. It’s been really fun and that’s to do with — our run game has been great. It opens up our pass game but Brock has been fantastic in the pass game. Aiyuk just got over 1,000 yards, which is awesome for him. … Brock has been very consistent for us and there hasn’t been really a weak link, especially when our o-line has been able to play together almost the entire year.

On facing teams in the playoffs:

They’re gonna give us their best shot and I know that we will be ready. We’re gonna give everybody our best shot and I know that our best shot is better than anyone else’s.

On his grandma’s day:

That was awesome, are you kidding me? First NFL game for my grandma, 100 years old on Friday, the stadium sings Happy Birthday to her, so shoutout to Levi’s Stadium. The Faithful are fantastic.

On pregame message from his grandma:

She said I looked really good and I was gonna have a great game today, so she’s gonna have to come to playoff games, too.

On the team’s turnaround:

We’re a completely different team than we were Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4. We got on a hot streak and then we’ve just been able to get better and better. Our defense has been fantastic throughout the entire year — they’ve kept us in every game.

On Watt:

When J.J. was at his peak, he was the most dominant player in football, like Aaron Donald, Nick Bosa, but even playing him now, you still have to game plan for him.

On Purdy:

When Brock came in against the Dolphins and took Cover Zero to the face and delivered, you kind of knew that you had a guy.

On Purdy:

You can just see his hunger. He’s disappointed in some of the plays he made today. He was talking about the game and he’s like, I just want to be better. So we win, like ‘Well, you’ve done a great job of winning so let’s just keep getting better.

Nick Bosa

On being taken out:

No, I talked to him early in the week and my main goal was to lead the league. We got a lot more important things to do so I’m just happy I got that and I think we were the No. 1 defense.

On takeaways:

It’s one of the No. 1 things. We have the ball meeting every Thursday. Nick Sorensen is our guy this year — he does the ball (meeting). Turnover margin, we looked at the stats in the meeting this week and every team that was in the top-10 takeaway margin teams are all playoff teams.

On J.J. Watt:

I talked to him after, just gave him my respect. I told him way to end on a two-piece, not a bad way to end it. I think it’s 12 on the year and to go on that note, I’m happy for him.

On the last loss:

It’s a long time ago but we’re going to be playing a lot of really good teams the next four games so we have to definitely lock in … It’s hard to keep the same grind and the same focus for 17 but when the playoffs come around, there’s a whole new energy and we gotta get everybody on board.

On energy entering the playoffs:

The mental grind that a season is, it wears on you, and then right when you get to the playoffs, you get a second wind.

On putting his helmet on late, whether he’d enter the game:

We were actually monitoring the Eagles and Hassan Reddick. He didn’t have any yet.

On shutting down outside life in playoffs:

I know that I won’t do anything different because I’ve been a hermit for quite some time … I sit on my couch and I fill my GameReady (recovery) machine with ice and I prop my legs up and watch some shows, and then I go to bed at 8:30 and wake up and get to work.

On Purdy:

He’s becoming a leader.

The 49ers celebrated her 100th birthday, which came Friday, during their 38-13 win over the Cardinals.

George greeted Lucky on the sideline before the game with a hug and posed with his extended family for a photo.

George Kittle hugs his grandma before the game. She turned 100 years old on Jan. 6 pic.twitter.com/R2g8zn8uJj

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) January 8, 2023

Kittle’s tight end compatriots, Tyler Kroft and Charlie Woerner, also took a picture with their teammate’s grandmother before the game, perhaps in a signal of the 49ers’ family-forward mentality.

After getting into his uniform, Kittle came back for one more sideline hug and a message from his grandmother and a few final embraces with other family members before taking the field.

George Kittle checking in with his grandma and fam one last time before the game pic.twitter.com/RPDfO7noB6

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) January 8, 2023

At halftime, the Levi’s Stadium crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to the centenarian Kittle, who had moved from the sideline to her seat along with plenty more Kittle family members.

The whole stadium joined in on a Happy Birthday song to George Kittle’s Grandma, Lucky! Happy 100th Birthday #49ers #FTTB #GoNiners pic.twitter.com/IKcs1uHwrT

— Alex Tran (@nineralex) January 8, 2023

Kittle the player scored that late second-quarter touchdown from four yards out to extend the Niners’ lead to 21-13, then Mitchell’s rushing score made it 28-13. Kittle tacked on a second touchdown catch — this time a 1-yarder — late in the third quarter to make it 38-13 and all but seal a top-two NFC seed for the 49ers.

“That was awesome, are you kidding me?” George Kittle said of his grandmother’s day. “First NFL game for my grandma, 100 years old on Friday, the stadium sings ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, so shoutout to Levi’s Stadium. The Faithful are fantastic.”

The tight end has a career-high 11 touchdowns this season, including an amazing seven over the last four games as his chemistry with rookie Brock Purdy has flourished.

Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy was tested with his first halftime deficit in the month since taking over for an injured Jimmy Garoppolo Dec. 4 against the Dolphins. He threw an interception late in the third quarter while the 49ers were trailing the Raiders 21-24, but overcame that mistake to help the Niners produce two more scoring drives. He finished the day 22-of-35 passing for 284 yards and two touchdowns, plus one interception.

Christian McCaffrey led San Francisco in rushing (19 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown) and contributed as the second-leading receiver (six catches for 72 yards). Brandon Aiyuk topped 100 yards on nine catches, Jordan Mason added a 14-yard rushing touchdown while Aiyuk and George Kittle each hauled in one of Purdy’s first-half touchdown passes.

And while Nick Bosa didn’t register a sack or even a tackle, his pressure on first-time starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham in overtime forced a floating throw that Tashaun Gipson Sr. intercepted and returned to set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning kick.

Here’s what coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers’ players said after the win:

Kyle Shanahan

On Purdy:

We had to come from behind, especially there at the end. Also, he made a ton of plays today but there was a number that he missed, too, and that’s the coolest part .. it was never one way or the other where he was struggling or doing well. But there were some mixed plays and to keep coming back, keep attacking, never got gun-shy.

On McCaffrey:

He was great. We needed it.

On the defense:

I think they made some good plays on us. We made some mistakes … We didn’t play perfect last week but we were able to respond on some things and they didn’t really get us on them. Some of those same mistakes happened today and they got some big ones right away.

On whether his team had a letdown vs. first-time starter:

I think we talked about it all week. I didn’t sense any letdown … Stidham can throw. He’s got a big arm, can make all those throws. I thought we let him get a little too comfortable there and the end of the first half especially, (we) didn’t hit him very much and let him move the chains with his legs. That kind of got them in a pretty good rhythm.

On Purdy:

What Brock’s doing is real. I mean, he’s a talented guy who’s very tough and when he does make mistakes, he understands why and then he tries to learn from them.

On the fans:

Yes but the Raiders fans were loud too. It definitely looked like a home game — there’s a lot more red so I was expecting it to be pretty loud for us.

On seeding:

Our first goal is to get in the playoffs — we call it the tournament — and once you get there, you always have a chance for the ultimate goal and everything about once you o get there is positioning yourself the best way you can … Our playoffs started a long time ago the way we look at it and we’re going to keep going.

Christian McCaffrey

On the game and his mindset:

Just try to stay as poised as possible. Those games are so fun. That’s kind of the games you dream about as a kid, the ones where it’s so back and forth and you have to fight and claw your way back. It was good for us to have that game.

On Purdy:

Not only was he poised but he took the throne, too, and made a couple calls in the huddle and just was very definitive in the way he ran things and everything was really smooth.

On why it’s important to play a close game:

You never know when you’re going to be in one of those games again. Obviously you want to blow every team out but that’s not realistic in this league and you need to be battle-tested.

On Aiyuk:

He went full beast mode on that last drive. That’s who he is, he’s a beast.

On the offense:

We feel we can play with anybody, any defense. It’s just about minimizing mistakes and being extremely efficient … I felt like we were moving the ball well. I think the whole line did an unbelievable job all day in the run game, in the pass game.

On faith in defense:

We knew that if we just keep putting points on the board, eventually our defense is going to get a stop … Bosa made a great rush at the end, Gip came up with pick, put us in field goal range and Robbie made the game winner.

Brandon Aiyuk

On the fluttering catch:

When I saw the ball up in the air, luckily he tackled me because I think we had one timeout, but luckily he tackled me and we were able to take the timeout because I’m not sure what would happen if that wasn’t the case.

On building up:

We know the ultimate goal. We’re just trying to get better every week and that starts with the while receivers and tight ends, anybody catching the ball.

On Purdy:

He did a great job. Super calm dude and the moment’s never too big for him. We’re not just going out there and trying to put a plan together to where everybody picks up and we kind of hide what he’s got going on or he’s not ready. He’s out there leading two-minute drives, signaling out wide, changing play calls while we’re going to two minute (offense). Today just really showed us that I think this dude is on a different level.

On the rivalry:

This is my first time playing the Raiders in a regular-season game and a Jan. 1 game, so it’s obviously a huge game but just throughout the week, talking to people, I got people hitting me up like ‘Man, you don’t even’ — like telling me I don’t know how serious this rivalry is. And I’m like ‘I mean, I think it’s pretty important to me too’. But just saying that and hearing that, it kind of made me realize ‘OK, this might be a little deeper than I thought.’

On the offense’s talent:

I feel bad for anybody who got to gameplan against us.

George Kittle

On playing a close game:

We have a rookie quarterback who’s playing at an incredibly high level but we’ve been playing from ahead a lot of it … I feel like we should have won the game earlier but you know we made mistakes and had some penalties and areas we shouldn’t have done but I think it’s a great win for the Niners.

On Purdy:

For Brock to get those reps with a ton of pressure on your shoulders and just go right through it, that’s what you want to see from him.

On whether he expected the ball to come to him on his touchdown catch:

Goodness gracious, no. Not at all.

We ran that play a couple times on Friday for our red zone stuff. I wasn’t even close. I mean, they’re like ‘Hey, you’re going to distract two guys and Aiyuk’s going to be wide open right behind you’ and I was like ‘OK’. And then the look came out and it was not the look that we went against. Kudos to Brock for just keeping his eyes up and finding me in the back of the end zone.

On playing a tight game:

I love winning by 30 points, but check your pulse, man.

On the defense:

When it comes down to it, I’ll pick our defense against any offense.

Nick Bosa

On the defense:

Obviously a ton to correct defensively, but for the offense to take control and win it for us was ginormous. We needed that. I’m proud of them.

On the forced interception:

I just kind of changed up the pace of my rush and got into his chest and just kept pushing. I think his hand hit the helmet of the guy. I haven’t seen it yet, but ah, man, I was happy to see the ball fluttering in the air.

On Stidham:

We gave him way too many open lanes in the pass rush. We need to clean that up for sure. But he was poised, he took hits. Hit him a good amount of times, we all did, and he completed the ball on most of them.

On the lanes left to Stidham:

The lanes we gave him anybody could have ran through. Tom Brady could have ran through those.

Fred Warner

On the close game and defensive struggles:

Obviously it’s a great learning lesson for us. Not ideal — you don’t want to have to learn that lesson, right? But yeah, a lot to take away from.

On the Raiders:

Kudos to them. They had a heck of a game plan. They came out to execute at a high level and played a heck of a game. They already had a lot of playmakers — we weren’t slouching on them at all.

On the offense picking up the defense:

We’re a complete team. That’s what you need to win big-time games. As much as I hate to say that we needed this — I want us to dominate in all facets of the game every single time we step out there — but adversity makes you stronger and we’re as tough as they come.

On whether they took the Raiders too lightly:

I didn’t feel prior to the game that guys weren’t up for it, guys weren’t ready to go. It’s just a matter of technique and playing well, doing our job.

On Purdy:

He’s been exactly what we needed at that position and has stepped up big-time.

Brock Purdy

On playing a close game:

I don’t think anybody wants to make games close or anything. You always want to put up points and win in a comfortable way but for us to go through that scenario and for our offense and even for myself, game’s on the line, we have to move down the field and put up points and trust the defense, all that kind of stuff — I think it was great for our team where we’re at in terms of what our goal is.

On intense atmosphere:

We’ve all talked about it, you know, moving forward with one game left in the regular season and playoffs starting up but to come in an environment like this, you feel it at the end of the game, crowd’s going crazy and you have to go out and perform and do your job.

On Aiyuk:

BA did a great job at winning his man-to-man matchups. He doesn’t a great job of creating space and I trust him in terms of where he’s going to be. So at the end of the game for me — in order to do his thing, all I had to do was put the ball on him and let him get YAC.

On the fluttering pass:

I was just thankful BA came down with it. I was like ‘Man, come on BA’. I was actually trying to get the ball to George and then I think it was the d-end, he had a great play and the got the ball a little bit and went up. I just gotta be smarter in that kind of situation in terms of, if he’s close, just take a loss or throw it away rather than ty to go deep to George.

On leaning on Garoppolo’s knowledge:

Jimmy’s played a lot of big games and stuff, obviously. I talked to him about the Super Bowl and everything a while back, and just all those games leading up to it.

On staying even-keeled:

I’m pretty hard on myself mentally. The pick to George or a misread. I always tell myself mentally, ‘You gotta be better’ or ‘you can be better, you’ve shown that you can.’ But I don’t like to show it to my teammates or anyone like that. I just got to ride the highs, ride the lows and staying the middle and keep things simple like that. The minute I start to go down or anything like that and start getting flustered, obviously guys will feel that, feed of that. Just gotta play my part, do my job and keep things nice and calm and cool, collected, even if it’s someone else that messes up too.

San Francisco went to Las Vegas and earned a 37-34 overtime win over the Raiders while the Vikings fell to the Packers at Lambeau Field 41-17, pushing Minnesota to the No. 3 seed. Meanwhile, the Eagles lost 20-10 at home to the Saints, leaving the door open for the 49ers to move up to the No. 1 spot in the conference.

If the current standings hold, the Niners would host the Seahawks in the wild-card round (Jan. 14-16). But a win over the Cardinals next week paired with a loss by Philadelphia against the Giants would push San Francisco to the top spot in the conference and give the 49ers a bye until the divisional round, when they’d play against the lowest-seeded NFC team remaining. Seattle is not a lock for that final playoff spot, though: A Green Bay win over Detroit next week would put the Packers in over the Seahawks and the Lions would get in with a win and a Seahawks loss.

While the 49ers are riding a nine-game winning streak, Philadelphia has lost two in a row following an injury to the right throwing shoulder of starting quarterback Jalen Hurts. MVP candidate Hurts is expected to play in Week 18 with the conference’s top seed on the line, according to a Sunday morning report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter. It’s with good reason, too: if the Eagles lose and the Cowboys win in Washington, Dallas will be NFC East champion and Philadelphia will be the No. 5 seed.

The 49ers have not played the Eagles or Vikings yet this season, so the head-to-head tiebreaker does not apply to them. The next tiebreaker is conference record, which San Francisco leads over both opponents. A win over Arizona would clinch that tiebreaker.

In the event that the 49ers drop to the No. 3 seed with a loss and a Vikings win, they would face the Giants on that opening weekend of the playoffs. They cannot fall to the No. 4 seed, which was wrapped up by the Buccaneers with a win Sunday over Carolina. Tampa Bay is locked in to host the second place team in the NFC East, likely Dallas but still possibly Philadelphia, in a wild-card matchup.

49ERS’ SCENARIOS

No. 1 seed: Win vs. Cardinals plus Eagles loss vs. Giants

No. 2 seed: Win vs. Cardinals plus Eagles win vs. Giants ORLoss vs. Cardinals plus Vikings loss vs. Bears

No. 3 seed: Loss vs. Cardinals plus Vikings win vs. Bears

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GAME ESSENTIALS: 49ers (11-4) vs. Raiders (6-9) at Allegiant Stadium, at 1:05 p.m. (PT). TV: CBS. Announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play), Mark Sanchez (color commentary), Laura Okmin (sideline reporting).

ODDS: 49ers -9.5. OVER/UNDER: 41.5.

SERIES: Tied 7-7. LAST MEETING: 49ers won 34-4 on Nov. 1, 2018.

The 49ers make their maiden voyage to Las Vegas to face the Raiders Sunday afternoon as they seek a ninth consecutive victory.

A win paired with a loss by the Minnesota Vikings against the Green Bay Packers would vault the Niners into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs with one week to go in the season.

The 49ers, even without their Week 1 starting and backup quarterbacks, appear to be getting stronger as the playoffs near. Star receiver Deebo Samuel returned to practice this week after missing two games with a high ankle sprain. Rookie quarterback Brock Purdy returned to full participation this week after being limited by oblique and rib injuries suffered in his first career start, and the man he replaced, Jimmy Garoppolo, is now out of the cast placed on his fractured foot, though any potential return to play for him is still weeks away.

The Raiders, meanwhile, will be without a mainstay of their offense for nearly the last decade. Veteran quarterback Derek Carr, who has struggled in recent weeks, has been benched and is away from the team. His contract stipulates that if he were to be injured, his $33 million salary for 2023 and $7.5 million of his 2024 pay would be guaranteed, and with the team almost certain to miss the playoffs, first-year coach Josh McDaniels has opted to start young quarterback Jarrett Stidham instead.

Stidham will make his first career start and is 8-for-13 for 72 yards over three games this season. The switch might lead to more carries for Josh Jacobs, who presents as firm a challenge as any back has given the 49ers this season.

Follow along with our reporters Cam Inman and Jerry McDonald, columnist Dieter Kurtenbach and other analysts providing their thoughts about the game.

George Kittle was the catalyst for the second-half breakout, catching a 34-yard long ball up the seam from Brock Purdy on third down early in the third quarter, then catching a short pass from the rookie quarterback and taking it 33 yards for another score two possessions later.

Those scores turned a 7-7 halftime score into a two-score lead, and Washington never came closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

The San Francisco defense forced consecutive turnovers to open the fourth quarter — a Nick Bosa sack fumble recovered by Jordan Willis, then a Jimmie Ward interception that chased Washington’s Taylor Heineke from the game.

The 49ers’ other touchdown also came on a long play, as well: Speedster Ray-Ray McCloud III opened the scoring with a second-quarter end-around that he took 71 yards down the right sideline.

With the win, the 49ers kept pace with the Minnesota Vikings, whom they trail for the No. 2 seed in the NFC standings by one game with two weeks left in the season.

Kyle Shanahan

On Charvarius Ward leaving the game:

He just told us he was feeling nauseous, so once he tod us that with what happened last week, we sent him in to the doctor so they went through all that stuff.

On Nick Bosa:

Whenever you have a pass rusher who’s as good as Nick, those are the guys who have the best way to change the game … On that last drive it was so hard for me because I got to do my job and take them out, and I know he’s gonna look at me right away when I do that because he wants to keep adding to his sacks, but I had to do that for the Niners.

On Brock Purdy’s oblique and rib injuries:

He’s definitely not 100 percent, so yeah, I think it affects him a little bit.

On George Kittle:

He started out the beginning of the year a little banged up, training camp and early in the year. Took a little time to come back and just get back in football shape but he’s playing great right now in the run and pass game.

On the long Kittle TD catch:

Kittle was supposed to go across the field, Ray-Ray was supposed to run a post. The middle of the field was wide open and Kittle’s natural reaction was to go to wide open spots. I think that’s probably why Brock hesitated a quick sec because it looked weird with two guys there, but he still had a rip and I’m just glad that Ray-Ray didn’t try to intercept it for him at that time.

On whether the McCloud touchdown run was the same as a play on which Deebo Samuel scored earlier this season:

No, it’s the exact same. It’s in our dead series. It was fun to install it because I can mess with Deebo.

On Jordan Willis:

You’re not going to hear him much. He’s our silent assassin but you guys saw how he sta

On whether defenses play Purdy differently from Garoppolo:

No, not really. I think it’s pretty similar.

On Purdy:

I think he always knew he had command from the beginning but once you go through these weeks, it’s not just the games but also just getting used to how he is on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, the whole routine of the week.

On not putting Washington away:

To be in there 7-7 at halftime, I was frustrated. Come out, I thought it was great, you know, we had two explosive drives. … Anytime you get the ball that much in the red zone and you only have one touchdown to show for it, that’s disappointing.

On having a day off Sunday for Christmas:

Knowing that you’re in the playoffs makes it a little bit more fun, but it’d be nice to have a normal week after once tomorrow’s over.

On message to the team after clinching the NFC West last week:

I didn’t talk to them much about the seeds. I just talked to them about what I believe that you can’t turn football on and off, and yeah, we got to be smart and make any decision that we think is smart for the organization but we’re in this position because of who we are and let’s not change who we are because we’re already in the playoffs.

Ray-Ray McCloud

On his touchdown run:

Kyle said you gotta do better than Deebo … It’s not me making a play, honestly, it was the line. McGlinchey in the front, Christian making his block, Mike pancaking his dude, Willie Snead sealing the end.

On Kittle’s TD down the middle:

I’d seen him a little early, so I’m like ‘Damn George, where you going?’ But he was a little close to me so I wasn’t going to outjump him to go get it and the ball’s all over the place.

On Purdy:

He has big cojones, man. They asked me on the radio about Josh Allen and Ben Roethlisberger and it hit me like ‘Oh, lord, he gives me the same vibration’ when you’re just around him in the locker room of the alpha male mentality and when he’s out there, he takes leadership in the huddle. And that’s been since preseason when he first got here at OTAs, and it’s not surprising us on the field.

Fred Warner

On missed opportunities:

All game we had opportunities to really snuff them out and I think about that first half, just more playing more assignment-sound and getting more knockbacks.

On fourth downs:

Shoot, you want to try us on fourth down, go ahead. We take those as takeaways.

On Nick Bosa:

It’s insane the level he’s playing at and that’s a big reason why our defense is performing the way it is, because we know that it takes all 11 and the rush and the coverage work together. Knowing that he’s on the field and has an opportunity to get home, you get stickier coverage, you’re able to sit on routes and, you know, he’s just been playing out of his mind.

On keeping focused:

If you’re the best, you gotta be the best day-in and day-out. It doesn’t just happen.

On Jordan Willis:

J-Will, that’s my guy because that’s true, he is the silent assassin. The way he works and the way he plays on gameday, it’s fun to watch when you go back and look at the tape.

On his national anthem tradition:

I usually try to look for the opposing quarterback or one of the offensive players, you know, see if there’s a staredown that can happen and if they look away I’m like, we got him.

Brock Purdy

On the deep TD pass to Kittle:

I saw George go down the middle, but I was just trying to keep the ball really down towards the middle to the left side of the field for Ray Ray to run away from the corner and all of a sudden George hit second gear and like stole it, basically.

On facing Bosa when he was the scout team QB:

It was frustrating at times just dropping back and seeing Nick right in my face and having to make a move almost every play but honestly it did help.

On Kittle:

Just Kittle’s energy and what he brings to the team every single day, what he just tells the team in terms of just keeping everything loose. I feel like times when we kind of feel uptight or whatnot, Kittle’s the guy to put a smile on your face and say ‘Hey, we’re good enough’ and that kind of thing. Very fortunate to have him in our locker room. He does bring energy and good vibes to everyone and honestly I do feel like he gets us back in the zone of playing well.

I think he’s the best in the NFL with his personality and everything like that.

On his rib and oblique injury:

I did feel it a little bit more against Seattle. There were certain weird movements that I would feel my rib and what not. But for this game, I felt great.

On getting comfortable:

I don’t really think about ‘Oh, I’m getting more and more comfortable’ or anything like that. I still have that same fire and drive as before I wasn’t playing. I want to go in and I want to prove (myself to) my teammates and earn the respect every play, every snap, every drive.

On settling for field goals:

We hold ourselves to a standard where, man, we should be scoring touchdowns, not only field goals time and time again. But at the same time you got to be smart, not turn the ball over, put points up on the board and then trust the defense to make stops again.

On George Kittle’s late catch at the 1-yard line

Wish I would have had him catch that third touchdown. I threw it a little short but just can’t get a Hawkeye too many touchdowns in a game.

George Kittle

On if he feels bad about his first TD catch:

Why, because I Grinched it? No. I think I’ve had five touchdowns taken away from penalties, so I’m gonna get them whenever they’re available.

On the TD and Ray-Ray McCloud:

I thought it was a safety trying to get the ball and it actually scared me. And then he was in my ear going ‘You stole my touchdown’ and I was like ‘My bad… ha, not really’.

On confidence in Purdy:

Brock’s confidence that he brings in every single day makes us all very confident.

On his second touchdown:

I called touchdown in the huddle.

On Bosa’s impact on the defense:

When you have to gameplan for Nick Bosa, it just allows all those guys to be so much better … I think today sealed his defensive MVP … He’s the most talented player on the field, I think, besides Trent Williams but I don’t think they’re gonna give an MVP to an offensive lineman.

On the last play where he was down at the 1:

I will say if he didn’t go to Iowa State, I think it would have led me on the last play and it would have been a touchdown but I’ll let that one slide because it’s Christmas … I already told him the joke that I just told you guys so he came here prepared. He stole my material.

Nick Bosa

On his forced fumble:

It was huge. whenever you can strip it, it’s definitely a big play for the defense.

On if he is eyeing the NFL sack record (22 1/2 by Michael Strahan):

Maybe. Not the main thing on my mind but I’m kind of eyeing the 19 1/2 more than that. Aldon (Smith).

On what’s made him more comfortable to perform:

Just more reps and being able to continue to learn each and every week and plan out my rush plan each and every week to tailor to who I’m playing.

On making such a big impact:

Any player on the defense or offense could make that impact and it’s always fun when it’s you.

On Purdy:

I’m super impressed with just how he’s matured so quickly and I think it helps that he started four years in college and I think for a rookie to come in and just have that command, everybody’s got his back.

On being in the DPOY race, probably the favorite:

I’ve played this game since I was 7 years old and played d-line the entire way through. I’ve watched guys throughout the years and just wanted to be in that position. I finally feel like I’m kind of living out my dream.

On Shanahan taking him out on the last drive:

I understand he does it. I was just giving him some guff for it. But we have a lot bigger goals than winning this game.

On Shanahan’s message to the defense:

He sees openings in some of the plays. He picked out like four or five and he just kind of showed us that there are some holes at certain times that we need to shore up.

Bobby April III joins Taylor’s staff as the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach. April most recently was at Wisconsin, where he was the Badgers’ outside linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator.

April is known as a strong recruiter who can help develop linebackers into NFL prospects. He was a finalist for Michigan’s defensive coordinator job last offseason, but after the Badgers fired head coach Paul Chryst mid-season and hired Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell to replace him, April’s future and that of the Wisconsin staff has been up in the air.

Under defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard, who stepped in as interim head coach, April helped Wisconsin earn top-30 rankings nationally in total defense (305.4 yards per game), rushing defense (103.2 ypg) and scoring defense (20.5 points per game), with a No. 31 ranking in pass defense (202.2 ypg).

“At Wisconsin, he and Jim Leonhard have consistently produced some of the top defenses in the nation,” Taylor said in a statement. “His reputation for recruiting and developing NFL talent is widely respected across the country. This is truly a great fit for Stanford. I can’t wait for him to get started.”

Some of the players April helped develop at Wisconsin since arriving in 2018 include NFL players Andrew Van Ginkel (Dolphins) and Zach Baun (Saints), as well as 2022 Big Ten sack leader Nick Herbig.

Taylor’s focus is on the offensive side of the ball, so April, who spent six seasons before joining Wisconsin in the NFL with the Eagles, Jets and Bills, will independently oversee the defense.

April joins Klayton Adams (o-line and run game coordinator), Malcolm Agnew (running backs), Tyler Osborne (wide receivers) and Ryan Deatrick (sports performance).