It’s a rivalry that never was.
The so-called Battle of the Bay between the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night will serve as the last, and perhaps least impressive, of the meetings between these N.F.L. teams separated by a thin body of water.
But even in a season that is already lost for both teams — the Raiders are 1-6 and the 49ers are 1-7 — there remains a feeling that the game, which will be held at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium, should matter.
“I wish the game had two 8-1 or 7-1 teams playing in it,” Coach Jon Gruden of the Raiders said on Monday.