It wasn’t the prettiest game and, at times, was quite a scary one, but the San Francisco 49ers found a way to edge past the Washington Commanders on Monday night to improve to 6-0 on the season.
Heading into the game with injury questions once again, the 49ers lost Mike Evans just before halftime. But their 17-point lead was too much to overcome, despite a furious comeback by Jayden Daniels and Co., allowing the 49ers to improve to 6-0 with the Atlanta Falcons up next before the bye week.
Here are
three quick takeaways from the 49ers win over the Commanders on Monday night.
Fast start pays off
One of my keys to the game for the 49ers was getting off to a fast start. Obviously, that’s important in any game, but it felt extra vital in this one.
We’ve seen the 49ers operate well in the clutch over the past two weeks against the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks, thanks to quality play from Brock Purdy, but I pointed to Evans’s injury status as a big reason why an early lead would be key.
Getting off to a fast start could ease some of the pressure off a clearly-banged up Evans, while also allowing the 49ers to remain balanced and the Commanders to get even more one-dimensional. That all turned out to be true, as the 49ers offense couldn’t get going without Evans in the second half.
One gripe from Kyle Shanahan in this game was also the 49ers’ lack of balance in the second half from a play-calling perspective over the final quarter. The 49ers went pass-pass-pass on two consecutive drives to start the fourth quarter, with both resulting in three-and-outs. The 1st started with a Brock Purdy sack, derailing the drive, while Purdy was sacked on second down on the second drive.
Washington also excelled in the pass game, with Jayden Daniels going for 300 passing yards, despite their run game producing just 53 yards on 3.1 yards per carry. That’s all to say: it was extremely important the 49ers got off to a lead, as the hole proved too far for the Commanders to dig out of in the second half.
Third and fourth down execution
The 49ers didn’t win the time of possession battle, mainly because the Commanders had the ball for nearly 80 percent of the fourth quarter. But they did win the late-down battle, which was also a key of mine heading into the game.
Coming in, the 49ers were the second-most efficient offense in the NFL, which meant they weren’t getting to third downs often, ranking 32nd in the NFL in third downs per game. But when they did get there, they still converted at a high rate, ranking first in the NFL coming into the game.
Meanwhile, while the Commanders were a solid defense on early downs, they’ve really struggled on third downs, ranking 28th in the NFL in EPA allowed per play on third downs and 24th in the NFL in conversion rate.
Through three quarters on Monday, the 49ers were 7 of 11 on third downs and 2 of 2 on fourth downs. So, in essence, they converted 9 of their 11 late-down opportunities, and that resulted in four scoring drives on six opportunities through three quarters, with the other two being Christian McCaffrey’s fumble and a punt.
With the pass game options looking as they did, and the Commanders’ defense coming in as a solid run defense, it felt like this one could be a game with longer drives, and that proved to be the case for the 49ers. They had drives of 9, 8, 7, 14, and 11 plays through the first three quarters, but executed well on later downs to keep them going.
Now, of course, the 49ers ended the game with three three-and-outs. But they also did a really good job defensively on later downs. The Commanders were just 3 of 12 on third downs and 1 of 3 on fourth downs, and it made a huge difference.
To start the game, the 49ers forced a field goal on a successful Washington drive, got a sack on third down for a three-and-out, and forced a turnover on downs as the Commanders got to 4th & 2 on the 49ers 13-yard line. That’s three key late-down stops resulting in only three points.
San Francisco also got a sack near midfield on third down on Washington’s opening drive of the second half. Then, after allowing two touchdown drives, the 49ers had multiple late-down stops. On Washington’s second-to-last drive, the 49ers forced an incompletion on third down and got a fourth-down sack, which was wiped out by an illegal contact. On the next set of downs, though, they got another third-down stop before Malik Mustapha’s big pass breakup forced a turnover on downs.
Of course, on the final drive, the 49ers got a sack on Daniels on third down to end the game on the final play.
Overall, the 49ers offense executed quite well on third and fourth downs through three quarters, setting themselves up in a good position, while the defense consistently came together with clutch plays on late downs to stop a very quality Commanders passing offense.
Some step up, while others struggle to
As in any close game, the 49ers don’t win this one without consistent play from some and clutch play from others.
We have to continue to praise Brock Purdy for his performances. The 49ers quarterback kept the ball out of harm’s way and completed 21 of 29 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown. He continued to hit explosives to his pass-catcher group, despite the injuries, and had a couple of savvy third-down scrambles to extend drives.
He’s seeing the field at a high level and isn’t making mistakes, while conducting a very efficient offense. Purdy averaged 9.1 yards per play, and it could’ve been more if some other plays were made in the second half.
Mustapha deserves praise, not only for his huge fourth-quarter play, but for his overall start to the season. As I’ve said the last few weeks, he’s been vital for Raheem Morris’s defense as a glue piece in the secondary.
On the defensive line, Romello Height continues to stack some really good games. He’s been a shoutout the last two weeks, and he played very well on Monday night, recording six pressures with his 0.5 sacks. Keion White, Mykel Williams, Gracen Halton, and Osa Odighizuwa all made key plays as well, as the 49ers pass rush got 21 pressures as a whole.
I have to also point out the quality play of Jaden Dugger, who has really broken out the last two weeks in Dre Greenlaw’s absence. Dugger had a team-high 11 tackles, and his versatility, which was a big talking point in the offseason, is showing out. He had multiple pressures again on Monday.
Then, even completely battered with injuries, Mike Evans had some big early plays that set up the 49ers scoring drives. That was key because the 49ers receivers were not targeted at all in the second half, with that group struggling to make plays. George Kittle had a strong first half as well, with five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown, but couldn’t come down with a key play on a third down in the second half that led to a quick punt.
The 49ers offensive line also had another very solid game, creating some key holes in the run game against a defense that ranked top 10 against the run coming into the week. Brock Purdy was also pressured on just 7 of his 34 dropbacks, despite being blitzed nearly 45 percent of the time.
One note to make: the 49ers benched Upton Stout again for a portion of the game, this time late in the fourth quarter. Raheem Morris initially had Ashtyn Davis in as a big nickel, then subbed him out as well after giving up a big play and committing a penalty. The 49ers then went with Deommodore Lenoir in the slot and Jack Jones outside to end the game.
Stout played just 28 of the 67 defensive snaps. He was credited with giving up three catches on four targets for 22 yards and a touchdown, per PFF.
I also do want to touch on Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling to end the game here as well. I mentioned earlier how Shanahan went pass-pass-pass on two consecutive fourth quarter three-and-outs, which backfired on the 49ers.
While he clearly wanted to remain aggressive, it was an interesting strategy given how San Francisco’s pass catchers looked and how the run game had been working to a degree. That kept a gassed defense on the field for over 11 minutes in the fourth quarter.
As we talk about some ups and downs, I do want to also touch on the Commanders side of things, as it was another week of questionable game management from Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels. Daniels threw the ball away on an early turnover on downs at the 49ers 13-yard line, taking points off the board there.
Then, on the final two drives for the Commanders, Quinn elected to go for it twice: on 4th & 8 at the 49ers 29-yard line with 3:01 left down 23-17, and on 4th & 3 at the 17-yard line coming out of the two-minute warning.
It was an interesting decision, given how the Commanders defense had just forced two straight three-and-outs. Washington also had all three of its timeouts, plus the two-minute warning, and ended up burning the first of the three ahead of the 4th & 8, which was bailed out by a penalty.
Had Washington kicked, they would’ve been in a much better situation late, needing only a field goal to tie on their final drive rather than a touchdown.
Daniels, for as good as he played in bringing the Commanders back, also took some very poor sacks in addition to the throwaway. Those were some costly plays by the Commanders in their loss.
