Grading 49ers' offense, defense in big win over Commanders
SANTA CLARA — Kyle Shanahan admitted he was frustrated that the 49ers were tied at halftime with the Washington Commanders on Saturday.
But the 49ers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to begin to take control of a 37-20 victory at Levi’s Stadium.
The Commanders stayed around until the fourth quarter when the 49ers settled for three short Robbie Gould field goals.
“It should have been a lot worse than it was,” Shanahan said.
Still, the 49ers, the NFC's No. 3 seed, made more than enough plays necessary for the decisive win over a team that is currently the No. 7 and final seed in the NFC playoffs.
The Commanders (7-7-1) are a half-game ahead of Seattle and Detroit.
Here is a look at the 49ers’ report card from their Week 16 game:
The 49ers were up against one of the top defensive lines in the NFL, and the Commanders were determined not to allow the 49ers to control this game on the ground.
Brock Purdy continued to keep the 49ers rolling on Saturday with another strong showing.
The rookie completed 15 of 22 pass attempts for 234 yards with two touchdown passes while throwing one interception and finishing with a passer rating of 114.6.
The Commanders are a running team, but they could not find anywhere to go against the 49ers’ stout front seven.
Defensive end Nick Bosa registered two sacks, setting a new career high with 17.5 to go along with four quarterback hurries
while also tallying another non-recorded sack to stop a two-point conversion attempt in the fourth quarter.
Robbie Gould was perfect on his three fourth-quarter field-goal attempts, but the highlight of this phase of the game was the 49ers' coverage units.
Shanahan was a bit more aggressive from the outset, going for it on a fourth-and-1 play in the first quarter, though the 49ers' option attempt with Kyle Juszczyk at the point failed.
The Commanders have a playoff caliber defense, and the 49ers came through with a well-rounded game.