ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Shy of the unlikeliest of Super Bowl runs, the final Battle of the Bay is upon us with Thursday night's game in Santa Clara between the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers.
Sure, with the Raiders coming in at 1-6 and the Niners sitting at 1-7, it's a dog of a game. In fact, with the teams' combined winning percentage of .133, it is the worst prime-time affair after Oct. 31 in NFL history.
Just don't tell fans of these teams the game doesn't matter. It's for regional bragging rights, even if the 49ers' Levi's Stadium is some 39 miles south of where Candlestick Park once stood and the Raiders will be headed to Las Vegas in 2020.