A win is a win. Ugly October victories don’t affect playoff seeding. We saw the Rams and Seahawks lose this very game in Week 6.
That’s not to say the San Francisco 49ers can get away with going three-and-out three times in a row to end a game, or giving their opponents multiple first downs via penalty. Overcoming self-inflicted wounds and escaping with a win is the tell of a contender.
Here are the winners and losers from Week 6
Mike Evans
Before he left with an injury, Evans was Brock Purdy’s favorite target
on late downs once again. He saw 40% of his targets on third down. Evans caught three of his five targets for 94 yards, including a 54-yarder on your typical, run-of-the-mill 25-yard in-breaker. It’s fascinating how different the offense is with Evans on the field.
Evans had four more yards than Washington did at the half.
The offense finished the game with three consecutive three-and-outs. That’s not something we’re accustomed to seeing. That’s because Evans has been their lifeline.
Malik Mustapha
Mustapha had some bone-chilling hits in this one. He had a run stop on third down, the game-sealing play on fourth down, and also had a quarterback hit. He set the tone early with a big lick on Stefon Diggs. He’s one of the only trustworthy members in the secondary.
Week 6 felt like there were several 2022-level hits. Where ball-carriers or intended wideouts were flatlined on contact. Mustapha is a big reason why. He’s making receivers second-guess catching the ball over the middle, and stopping running backs in their track.
Romello Height
Height finished the game with a Next Gen Stats pressure rate of 21.7% (league average is a little less than 13%) and saved his most impactful plays for when the 49ers needed them most. White’s 0.72 get-off time was the fastest among 49ers defenders this season.
He led the 49ers with four quarterback hits and finished with a split sack. Height drew penalties and was active for much of the second half, living in Washington’s backfield. If the 49ers are going to play with the lead, they’ll need their pass rush to bail out their secondary. Height did on Monday night.
Brock Purdy
Eleven of Purdy’s 29 attempts went for 10+ yards, yet he still completed 72.4% of his passes. He had the sixth-highest EPA in Week 6 and the fourth-best success rate. Purdy was sacked twice, but one was on a free rusher, and the other came from two of his receivers running into each other downfield.
Purdy’s aggressiveness was on point with Mike Evans on the field. He threw three 20+ yard completions and two 14+ yard completions. Purdy layered throws but also threw a couple of seeds.
No quarterback generated more EPA with their legs than Purdy this week, nearly double that of the second-placed quarterback. He picked up a few first downs in short-yardage situations and scrambled for another 24 yards, including a key 11-yard conversion.
Purdy was Purdy.
Keion White
White has been a revelation this season. He had five pressures and a half sack to end the game. He’s chaotic, but in a complementary way you need your defenders to be. As the Niners get more bodies back along the defensive line, White can focus on playing more pass-rushing snaps.
White consistently flashes in the backfield and moves the quarterback off his spot. He’s the ideal interior rusher.
Losers
Penalties
Sloppy. You can appreciate the defense’s intent. They were hitting. But it led to head hunting and some helmet-to-helmet/unnecessary roughness penalties — and some were called back.
The 49ers gave Washington four first downs from penalties. Overall, they had 11-for-88 yards. That’s how you lose the game. The one-win team didn’t capitalize. Just about any other team will.
Ashtyn Davis
It’s never easy coming in cold late in the game. But that doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to be a sieve in coverage.
One of Raheem Morris’s few missteps this season was putting in Davis over Jack Jones, a move they made on the final drive. Davis allowed all four of his targets to be completed, including a 30-yarder. He had a ticky-tack penalty, but it still benefited the Commanders. He was a free rusher on a well-schemed blitz, but missed the tackle in the backfield. Davis actually missed two tackles in limited action. I think it’s safe to say we won’t see Davis in the slot again.
Renardo Green
Green came back down to earth a week after two interceptions. He was fortunate that Daniels airmailed a deep crossing route, as the younger McCaffrey had a step on Green 25+ yards downfield.
For the game, Green allowed three of his four targets to be completed for 68 yards and had a penalty. He also missed a tackle. Washington was going to throw the ball, but that’s no excuse for giving up chunk plays and first downs. He’s better than that.
Dominick Puni
If you were asked which offensive lineman allowed more than one pressure, the easy answer would be Connor Colby. You’d be wrong. Dominick Puni had his worst game of the year and allowed a double-digit pressure rate. Washington made it a point to blitz and send pressures Puni’s way. He was beaten four times.
Jacob Cowing
The writing is on the wall for Cowing, whose snap count has dwindled to 15. Cowing had every opportunity over the past month to carve out a role for himself, but he hasn’t gotten open. Brandin Cooks doubled Cowing’s snaps. If Christian Kirk returns, Cowing could be inactive, with Jordan Watkins returning punts.
That’s because Cowing’s return game has been an adventure. He muffed a punt after catching it at the six-yard line. He left his feet and dove to catch another punt. He’s asking to be benched for his decision-making.
Deommodore Lenoir
Lenoir’s confidence from the first month no longer exists.
Per Next Gen Stats, both cornerbacks allowed more than four yards of separation on their targets. Lenoir was targeted six times, allowing five completions for a nearly perfect passer rating of 149.3. None of his targets were tight windows.
For the second week in a row, Lenoir gave up ground and backpedaled nearly into the end zone when the ball was thrown his way. Cooper Kupp picked up a first down last week. Rachaad White scored this week.
The targets aren’t competitive, which is concerning. It feels like yesteryear, when the defensive line is masking a shaky secondary.
Eddy Pineiro
The honeymoon phase is officially over with Pineiro, who missed his third extra point of the year. He’s 31st in field-goal percentage and 28th in extra-point percentage. Pineiro can right these wrongs by finishing the year strong, but field goals decide playoff games. It makes you wonder whether Kyle Shanahan will lean on his offense down the stretch instead of putting the game on the line with a kicker who can’t seem to split the uprights.
Winners
Mykel Williams
Williams had a sack and a tackle for loss in 25 snaps. He managed a 15% pressure rate, which is the most encouraging sign. There weren’t many plays to be made against the run, which is Mykel’s calling card. So seeing him flash multiple times as a pass rusher should give the player returning from injury even more self-assurance.
The defensive tackles
Gracen Halton dealt with a quad injury leading up to this game. He was outsnapped by Sebastian Valdez. James Thompson returned, but Osa Odighizuwa thrived against the Commanders’ pass-heavy attack.
Osa led the way with four pressures and had a team-high five impact plays, per Sumer Sports. Odighizuwa also led the team with a 19.4% pass rush win rate. Odighizuwa and Valdez both had run stops.
Valdez continues to impress. It makes you wonder what this would look like if Alfred Collins and CJ West had never gotten hurt. Valdez is clearly producing more than both would and could. Valdez had the highest pressure rate at 18.8%.
Halton and Odighizuwa had sacks. The trio had one tackle for loss apiece. This position group has been the season’s biggest pleasant surprise, and they continue to show out each week.
They were penalized twice, which is something they obviously can’t afford moving forward.
The offensive line
Puni’s four pressures were the lone wart from this group. Some ill-advised holding penalties could’ve gone uncalled. However, both running backs had more than 1.25 yards before contact and had rushing success rates over 60%.
Purdy blamed himself for one sack. I blame the wideouts for the other one. Purdy was only pressured on 20.6% of his dropbacks — the best mark in Week 6. The average time to pressure was 2.84 seconds, which was the second-best mark of the week for any quarterback.
Some fans complained about this unit after the game, and I don’t understand why. They were good!
