Getty
Kyle Shanahan talked about the defense making the plays it needed to on Monday.
The Washington Commanders threatened to spoil the San Francisco 49ers’ night, but the Niners’ defense stepped up just in time.
Defensive end Romello Height and Keion White’s tag-teaming of Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels ended the game with an explanation point for the 49ers (6-0) in a 23-17 win. Washington rallied from 20-3 down to have a shot at winning the game in the final seconds.
“I was really proud of the defense just able to overcome… all those penalties on us [the offense] not being able to help them out there at the end,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Monday. “I like how our defense hit.”
Osa Odighizuwa, Mykel Williams, and Gracen Halton also sacked Daniels in the win. The 49ers had 11 tackles for loss as a team, and Jaden Dugger led the defense with a team-high 11 tackles.
The 49ers gave up two touchdown drives in the second half, but the Niners’ defense kept the Commanders on the board for the final two drives of the game to preserve the win. At Shanahan’s point, the 49ers offense went cold in the second half with three punts and a field goal.
San Francisco will now have a short week to work out those kinks before a road game against the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 25.
Brock Purdy yelled at the Defense
Niners quarterback Brock Purdy can’t deny that the defense bailed out the offense in the second half.
Purdy led an 11-play, 65-yard drive in the third quarter, which resulted in a field goal, so things looked consistent with a 20-point first half early on. Then, the 49ers went negative yardage on six plays in the fourth quarter, as the Commanders threatened.
“Obviously, offensively and for myself in the second half … it was tough,” Purdy told reporters on Monday. “For our defense to do what they did at the end, that was really impressive.”
Washington made it 23-17 on Daniels’ touchdown pass to running back Rachaad White with 9:22 left in the fourth quarter and things looked far from the 49ers’ 20-3 first half cushion. The 49ers’ offense barely gave the defense a break after the Commanders’ 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive as the 49ers’ next possession lasted 1:36.
San Francisco gave up 61 yards on 13 plays on the Commanders’ next possession, but the secondary rose to the occasion especially. Malik Mustapha broke things up in the end zone for the 49ers, intercepting a potential touchdown pass to Treylon Burks on fourth down.
49ers Keep Winning Despite Injuries
While the 49ers have been injured on offense, the defense is also missing players.
That includes defensive lineman Nick Bosa, and the 49ers defense is without linebacker Dre Greenlaw due to a suspension. Greenlaw has 18 tackles and a sack this season, and Bosa has three tackles in his two games played.
The offense is like MASH united. The 49ers survived without wide receivers Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, Christian Kirk and De’Zhaun Stribling for the game or most of the game. Other injured offensive players Jake Tonges and Isaac Guerendo.
Matthew Davis covers NFL, WNBA and college sports for Heavy.com. As a contributing writer to the StarTribune, he has also covered Minnesota prep sports since 2016. More about Matthew Davis