It got weird, but the San Francisco 49ers held on by the hair on their chinny chin chin moving to 6-0 on Monday night.
The 49ers had a 23-3 lead late in the third quarter, but Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders wouldn’t go away, cutting the 49ers’ lead to six. But that’s as close as things would get as San Francisco held on to a 23-17 win.
It was a tale of two 49ers teams: one with an offense that couldn’t be stopped and a defense that complemented perfectly, but another with an offense that couldn’t move
the ball and a defense that just couldn’t get off the field.
Nonetheless, a win is a win. These are the three players most responsible for the 49ers’ sixth win of 2026:
3rd star: S Malik Mustapha
The 49ers defense doesn’t survive Monday night without Mustapha’s late-game heroics.
The safety wasted no time introducing his presence to the Washington offense. On a third-down play, Daniels found Stefon Diggs for what would have been a first down, but Diggs dropped the pass. The drop did not ensure Diggs’ safety.
Mustapha came through with a hit big enough; had Diggs had possession of the ball, it would be easy to see the ball coming out. And while that was one of his first plays, Mustapha would wait until two of his final plays to make his biggest impact.
With the 49ers clinging to a six-point lead late in the fourth quarter, Washington faced a third-and-3. Washington’s offensive coordinator David Blough decided to be cheeky with a run right before the two-minute warning to catch the 49ers defense off-guard. Mustapha read it perfectly, meeting Rachaad White in the hole for no gain, forcing a fourth down.
Washington wasn’t content with just a first down on the potential game-deciding fourth down, and Blough went at Mustapha. Daniels targeted Treylon Burks on what would have been a 17-yard touchdown to tie the game pending PAT, but a Mustapha hit forced Burks to hard the ground hard on his back, knocking the ball free to give the ball back to the 49ers.
The San Francisco defense had to do some cleanup after the offense went three-and-out, but Mustapha’s two-play span to end Washington’s last real chance to score earned the 49ers a victory.
2nd star: RB Christian McCaffrey
For better or worse, it’s the type of game we’ve come to expect from McCaffrey.
The worse: it was a 2025-usage game, something you’d hope Kyle Shanahan would steer away from. The most touches McCaffrey had in a game this season entering Week 6 was 19, which he achieved in Week 3 against Arizona. By halftime (and before Evans injury), McCaffrey had 16 touches, and he touched the ball nine more times on 20 plays in the second half.
But for the better: McCaffrey paid off that heavy usage with a high-production game. Monday night marked McCaffrey’s second game with more than 100 scrimmage yards (first was also the Arizona game) this season, carrying the ball 16 times for 64 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns while leading all pass-catchers with nine receptions for 53 yards.
The two scores accounted for more than 50 percent of the 49ers’ scoring, earning McCaffrey the No. 2 star. But the usage will be something to monitor, more so with the potential of Mike Evans missing time adding to McCaffrey’s workload.
1st star: WR Mike Evans
I mean, he has to be, right? Evans’ night ended at the 1:08 mark of the second quarter with a 16-yard reception to put the 49ers in the red zone. The 49ers would score five plays later to go up 17 points before halftime.
In the five drives where Evans played, the 49ers offense totaled:
- 41 plays
- 303 net yards
- 17 first downs
- 214 passing yards
- 20 points
After Evans exited, San Francisco’s offense could only muster:
- 19 plays
- 72 net yards
- 3 first downs
- 34 passing yards
- 3 points
Evans 94 first-half yards were almost three times as much as what the passing game could put together in the second half.
He might not have scored a touchdown on Monday, but his impact was felt on all three of the 49ers’ first-half scoring drives. On San Francisco’s opening drive, Purdy connected with Evans for a gain of 24, moving the ball from the 49ers’ 42 to Washington’s 34. Six plays later, the 49ers would jump out to a 7-0 lead.
Evans wouldn’t waste time to move the ball on the 49ers’ second drive. With the defense holding Washington to a field goal, the offense looked for a quick response, and Evans would provide one. Purdy would put the ball in the perfect spot for Evans to catch the ball and turn upfield to run, resulting in a 54-yard gain, instantly giving the 49ers a red zone opportunity. The 49ers would cash in eight plays later, going up 10 early on.
The day would end with Evans 16-yard catch to set up the 49ers final touchdown of the evening, but the 49ers offense wasn’t the same without him in the second half. Ideally, the injury isn’t long-term so we don’t have to find out if the second-half 49ers offense actually is that without Evans.
Throughout the season, we will track the three stars of the season by tallying points for each star award using a complex scoring system: three points for being the first star, two for the second, and one for the third. Through Week 6, the standings are:
- WR Mike Evans – 8 points
- QB Brock Purdy – 7 points
- LB Fred Warner – 3 points
