The San Francisco 49ers managed to pull off the 23-17 victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday night, but it ended up being closer than expected after the Niners dominated the first half and held a 23-3 lead at one point.
The 49ers were cruising through three quarters, as they had scored on four of their six drives, while sustaining a couple of long possessions. However, in the fourth quarter, their defense was on the field for most of the quarter as the offense went three-and-out on three straight
possessions.
On the first two, San Francisco called six straight pass plays. With the first set of downs, the 49ers dropped back on first down, and Brock Purdy took a sack. That forced them to throw out of long distances on second and third down, and the 49ers punted on 4th & 11. On the second possession, Purdy scrambled for six on a first-down dropback, but took a sack on 2nd & 4, setting up another third-and-long and a punt.
The quick possessions didn’t hurt them, as the 49ers forced a turnover on downs and ended a different drive on a sack to end the game, but there were questions about Shanahan’s playcalling down the stretch. What was going on in the head coach’s mind?
“It was a frustrating end there, just going three-and-out those last three drives on offense, having a chance to put them away,” Shanahan said. “Thinking we did a couple of times and then having those penalties kept those drives going. Yeah, you’re not always happy exactly with how it [went]. some of the stuff was frustrating. But, real proud of the guys for just the competitive stamina to keep it going all game.
“First half obviously looked like we were going to run away with it, especially that opening drive in the third quarter. They made a big play. I thought we had a touchdown. I think it was number four (Frankie Luvu) tipped the ball, held us to a field goal. They got some big plays going. But just the perseverance of the defense, just putting them back out there those three drives in a row. Losing a couple of key guys. Jalen Graham having to get in there with losing [Luke] Gifford, played a lot in the base stuff. Losing [Upton] Stout there where we had Ashtyn Davis come in and play some big pivotal roles there in the fourth quarter. I was just really proud of the defense for finding a way to overcome all those penalties and us not helping them out on O in the fourth.”
The offense had started the second half on a high note, going 11 plays for 65 yards on a six-minute drive and nearly scoring a touchdown before settling for a field goal to extend the lead to 23-3.
“I thought we had an awesome drive to start it out,” Shanahan said of the team’s offense in the second half. “I think we were going to score. I think Brock ripped that ball, just got a tip. Then the next three drives were just frustrating. We got sacked on the first one on first-and-10, got us into second-and-20. Couldn’t overcome second-and-20. The next time up, we got to second-and-four. Probably should have called a run, but I was anticipating a run blitz and we did get that and our hot route just got caught up. We couldn’t get rid of it, so we took another sack. Then the third time was just four minute. We were trying to eat up their timeouts. So, it’s frustrating we couldn’t get a first down after that opening drive.”
How big was the loss of Mike Evans with the offense’s struggles in the second half?
“It’s definitely a big deal when you lose a player like Mike, but our first drive [in the second half] I thought was one of our better drives of the game,” Shanahan added. “We ran the ball real well, we just got a ball tipped on third down that would have been a score and we got a field goal. The next two drives really, we got a sack on first down, got us into second-and-20. We went three-and-out both times and then the fourth time was a four-minute drill. We were trying to run the clock out.
“So just the way it ended up being, Mike wouldn’t have had a chance to have much of an effect there in the second half. Now, if we would’ve gotten some first downs and stuff and got driving, then you would’ve felt the lack of presence of him. But, we didn’t get enough first downs to really show where we would miss him.”
Following the game, Brock Purdy took responsibility for the sacks, while acknowledging he could’ve been better in the second half.
“Obviously offensively and for myself, in the second half, it’s tough just to do what we did, three-and-outs,” Purdy said. “I think there’s some plays where I could have been better for sure in getting the ball out and whatnot instead of taking some sacks. But, for our defense to do what they did, obviously I know it sounds cheesy, but I mean it’s true, it’s a team win. It takes a whole team collectively for four quarters. And so, for our defense to do what they did at the end, that was really impressive.”
“I think we were ready for it with our plan,” the quarterback added. “First half, obviously didn’t feel like they did it as much. Second half, I just thought they did a good job with just being a little disruptive and taking checkdowns away, sort of making me hold onto the ball. So that’s still on me on some certain plays to get the ball out. But overall, really good scheme. I respect the heck out of them.”
Despite some of the offensive struggles to end the game, San Francisco’s defense kept the Commanders at bay. As a result, the 49ers are 6-0, and they’ll get a chance to clean things up with Mike Evans potentially out against the Falcons next weekend.
