SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass, Christian McCaffrey ran for two scores and the San Francisco 49ers held on to beat the Washington Commanders 23-17 on Monday night for their sixth straight win to open the season.
The Niners followed up an emotional win last week at division rival Seattle
by building a 20-point lead and holding off the Commanders (1-4-1) with two late defensive stops.Jayden Daniels threw two touchdown passes
in the second half to cut a 20-point deficit to 23-17, but Malik Mustapha broke up a fourth-down pass to Treylon Burks near the goal line with 1:54 to play to preserve the lead.
Washington got the ball back at its 46 with 52 seconds remaining and moved down to the 28 before Daniels was called for intentional grounding, giving the Commanders one last play from the 40. Daniels was then sacked by Keion White and Ogbo Okoronkwo before he could throw up a desperation pass.
The Niners extended their best start of a season since winning their first eight games in 2019 on the way to a Super Bowl appearance.
Purdy started the game fast with a 24-yard strike to Mike Evans on the third play of the game and an 11-yard touchdown to George Kittle to finish that drive. Purdy went 21 for 29 for 264 yards and officially became the highest-rated passer in NFL history as he passed the 1,500-attempt threshold to qualify. His 105.6 rating is ahead of Lamar Jackson's 102.7.
The Commanders were unable to bounce back from last week's tie against the New York Giants, when they mismanaged the clock in overtime to cost them a chance at a game-winning field goal.
The game was one-sided early with the 49ers scoring touchdowns on the first two drives on Purdy's pass to Kittle and a 1-yard run by McCaffrey.
San Francisco expanded the lead to 20-3 late in the half on McCaffrey's second touchdown run as the Niners gained as many first downs (17) in the first half as the Commanders ran plays.
The 49ers outgained Washington 303 yards to 90 in the half with Washington's best chance at scoring a touchdown in the first half ending when Daniels threw the ball away on fourth-and-2 from the 13.
The game featured a matchup of coaches with a history together with San Francisco's Kyle Shanahan working for two years in Atlanta as offensive coordinator for Washington coach Dan Quinn. That run included a trip to the Super Bowl in the 2016 season when the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead against New England.
This is the second time they've met as head coaches since then, with Quinn winning with Atlanta in 2019 while Shanahan won three matchups when Quinn was the defensive coordinator in Dallas.
Shanahan has credited Quinn with teaching him the importance of people skills as a head coach.
Commanders: WR Terry McLaurin left the game in the first quarter with a left knee injury that required an air cast before he was taken off the field on a cart. ... DT Javon Kinlaw (knee) also left the game in the first half.
49ers: Evans left the game late in the first half with an Achilles tendon injury. He missed practice this week because of soreness in the tendon and broken ribs.
Commanders: After a bye, Host Philadelphia on Nov. 1.
49ers: Visit Atlanta on Sunday.
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