Fresh off a huge Week 5 divisional win against the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers begin their longest stretch of games without an NFC West opponent with a Monday night date against the Washington Commanders.
Washington has already aided the 49ers this season, handing Seattle its first loss of the season with a Week 3 win over San Francisco’s division rival. A Commanders loss to the 49ers on Monday night would also be a huge boost for San Francisco, with a win putting the 49ers up three
games in the NFC West.
The 49ers will look to avoid a letdown spot against a lesser Washington team. Here are the numbers to know heading into the Monday night clash:
37.7
Percent. The Commanders blitz on 37.7 of opponents’ dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the league.
The dam finally broke for the 49ers offense when Seattle’s defense got to Brock Purdy for the first three sacks San Francisco has allowed this season. The 49ers offense will now have to face the team that sends an extra man or two at the second-highest clip in the league on Monday night.
Unfortunately, that high blitz rate hasn’t done much for the lacking Washington pass defense.
Because of the blitz, Washington’s defense ranks well in pressure rate (9th) and hurry percentage (6th), but that hasn’t resulted in sacks. Washington ranks 24th with nine sacks, and since the pass rush can’t bring down the opposing quarterback, the Commanders’ poor secondary has been exposed to the tune of:
- 255 passing yards per game (4th-highest)
- 14 passing touchdowns (tied for most)
- 67 passing first downs (third-most)
Purdy’s been in incredible form to start the season, and that form should continue against the lacking Washington secondary, so long as the San Francisco offense can handle the blitzes that Dan Quinn and his Washington defense will present.
67.7
Rushing yards per game. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels averages 67.7 rushing yards per game.
With Washington’s leading rusher Jacory Croskey-Merritt (groin) out on Monday night, the onus will be on Daniels to pick up the slack in the run game, something he’ll have no issue in taking on.
Entering Week 6, Daniels ranked eighth among quarterbacks with 21 rush attempts. The only reason he doesn’t have more is the two games he missed, but despite the missed games, Daniels 203 rushing yards are second-most for quarterbacks behind only Josh Allen, who has 239 rushing yards on twice as many rush attempts in his five games.
Simply put, the 49ers will not face a more prolific mobile quarterback this season than Daniels.
Raheem Morris and the 49ers defense have faced one quarterback with more rush attempts so far this season than Daniels, and that was Malik Willis in Week 2 when the 49ers beat the Miami Dolphins.
Willis is a quality rusher in his own right, with the third-most at the position, 186 rushing yards on his 27 rush attempts. His 6.9 yards per attempt rank fourth among quarterbacks with 15 or more rushing attempts this season. But when the 49ers faced him, Willis couldn’t get his legs going, holding the quarterback to a season-low six rushing yards on two carries.
Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough will draw up at least two designed runs for Daniels, so don’t expect a Willis-like ground usage for Washington’s quarterback on Monday night.
4
Times. The 49ers have started 6-0 four times in franchise history (1948, 1984, 1990, and 2019).
A win on Monday night would mark the fifth time the 49ers have started the first third of the season without a loss. Each of the last three 6-0 starts have meant at least an NFC Championship Game appearance (in the Super Bowl era).
1948 was the only 6-0 start in 49ers history that didn’t result in a playoff game appearance (the 14-0 Cleveland Browns claimed the 1948 AAFC Championship defeating the Buffalo Bills), but the 49ers would finish 12-2. Those 12 wins came against teams like the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Dodgers, Los Angeles Dons, and Chicago Rockets.
But since the invention of the Super Bowl, a 6-0 start has meant at least an NFC Championship Game appearance for the 49ers. The 2026 49ers have the chance to do something the 1984 team did: go 6-0 with a Monday night win against an NFC East foe. 1984 saw the 49ers defeat the New York Giants to move to 6-0 with a 31-10 Monday Night Football win. San Francisco’s quest for perfection in 1984 would end the next week with a loss against Pittsburgh, but the 49ers would go on to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl.
The 1990 49ers would use a Week 6 win against the Steelers to move to 6-0. The streak would continue into the middle of November when a Week 12 loss to the Rams would drop San Francisco to 10-1. San Francisco would finish 1990 with a 14-2 record but fall short in the NFC Championship Game to a 13-3 Giants team that would go on to win Super Bowl XXV.
The most recent 6-0 team was Kyle Shanahan’s third season with the 49ers in 2019, when San Francisco moved to 6-0 with a sloppy 9-0 win in a rainy Washington, D.C. The 49ers would stay undefeated a few more weeks before losing to Seattle to end the start-of-the-season winning streak at eight games. The 49ers would again make the Super Bowl, but fell to the Chiefs in Miami.
Now, 6-0 doesn’t guarantee postseason success, but the history shines brightly on the 2026 49ers’ Monday night win.
