Game Recap – San Francisco 49ers at Washington Commanders – Week 17

January 1, 2024

By Noonefromtampa

Washington’s Losing Streak Continues

Pregame

Jacoby Brissett tried out his hamstring and it was a no-go decision for him, so he became one of the inactives for the game.

First Quarter

Washington won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. 49ers and Brock Purdy started on offense. Christian McCaffrey picked up nine yards on his first carry. He was the workhorse back on the first drive of the game, with another run for 13 yards and a catch for 10 yards. Daron Payne was able to break on a screen to McCaffrey, allowing James Smith-Williams and Khaleke Hudson to make a tackle for a 5 yard loss. That put the 49ers in a 3 and 11, which they did not convert. Jake Moody made a 38 yard field just inside the right upright. 49ers 3, Commanders 0.

Washington opened with a Sam Howell to Curtis Samuel pass for 7 yards. That was followed by an incompletion and a false start, putting Washington in a third and 8. The pass to Samuel was incomplete, which forced a Tress Way punt.

The 49ers easily moved the ball after the punt, picking up chucks of yards. McCaffrey had runs of 7 and 10 yards, Deebo Samuel had a 10 yard run and 16 yard catch, and Brandon Aiyuk had catches of 6 and 17 yards. That moved the ball into first and goal at the Washington 2 yard line. Samuel was able to walk in a shovel pass from there. The extra point was good. 49ers 10, Commanders 0.

Brian Robinson got involved in the offense on Washington’s next drive, with a 12 yard run and a 22 yard screen pass from Howell. Terry McLaurin caught a 5 yard pass to end the quarter.

Second Quarter

Robinson ran for 6 yards on the next two plays for the first down. The drive fell apart after that with a blown play on second down and a third down incompletion. Joey Slye nailed a 47 yard field goal down the middle. 49ers 10, Commanders 3.

McCaffrey caught a pass for 12 yards on the next drive, but the 49ers only gained 5 more yards. On third down Christian Holmes went in for an injured Tariq Castro-Fields and the ball away from Ronnie Bell in a perfectly timed play.

After the punt, which Jamison Crowder fair caught, McLaurin gained 11 yards on a shovel pass. Samuel had a short gain on a bubble screen and Robinson gained 7 yards on a checkdown. McLaurin then caught a 42 yard completion on third down to move the ball down to the 49ers 18 yard line. Three strong runs by Robinson gained 15 yards. On third and goal from the three, McLaurin strong-armed the ball away from the defensive back for a touchdown. The Slye extra point was good. 49ers 10, Commanders 10.

On the following drive, Purdy connected on pass of 18 yards to George Kittle and 22 yards to Aiyuk. Samuel gained 8 yards on a jet sweep and McCaffrey picked up 13 yards behind Trent Williams. That took the clock down to the two-minute warning. The Commanders defense then made an excellent goal line stand. Payne was able to tackle McCaffrey for a three yard loss and the secondary forced two incompletions. The 22 yard field goal attempt from Moody was good. 49ers 13, Commanders 10.

Washington ran out the clock to end the half.

Third Quarter

Washington’s first drive of the second half was strange. After gaining 9 yards on the first two plays, they ran a rollout and lost six yards on third down. After Tress Way’s punt, which was downed on the 49ers 17 yard line, Quan Martin had a big hit on Kittle on first down to force an incompletion. On second down McCaffrey caught a pass for 10 yards and a first down. Elijah Mitchell came in for McCaffrey and ran for 24 yards on three plays. Aiyuk caught a 9 yard pass which was followed by a 7 yard run by Mitchell. McCaffrey then returned and was tackled for a 1 yard loss by Cody Barton, but unfortunately Barton was called for a facemask penalty which moved the ball down to the Washington 18 yard line. The 49ers kept plugging away, with a three yard run by McCaffrey, a 6 yard pass to Samuel, and a 4 yard run by Mitchell for a first and goal at the Washington 5 yard line. Two plays later Mitchell ran it in for a touchdown. The extra point was good. 49ers 20, Commanders 10.

After the touchback, Logan Thomas caught a 6 yard pass and Robinson ran 5 yards for a first down. Following an incompletion, Trenton Scott was called for illegal use of hands which set Washington back 10 yards. Howell remained calm and hit Samuel for 25 yards on a deep route. Antonio Gibson caught a screen for 15 yards and then ran for 16 yards over the right side. At the 49ers 18 yard line, Robinson ran for 5 yards on first down and Scott was called for a false start on second down. The 49ers were then called for illegal contact on an incompletion, giving the Commanders 5 yards and more importantly a first down.  Gibson ran for 1 yard to end the third quarter.

Fourth Quarter

After an incompletion, Howell misfired on a pass to McLaurin and Charvarius Ward intercepted it at the 49ers five yard line. Mitchell ran for 15 yards on first down and followed it up with a 6 yard run. Kyle Juszczyk caught a 7 yard pass from Purdy, then Mitchell ran for 2 yards. Juszczyk picked up a first down on a 9 yard reception. Purdy threw a perfect 38 yard pass over the fingertips of Emmanuel Forbes to Aiyuk down to the Washington 18 yard line. Bell was called for offensive holding on a 15 yard shovel pass to Samuel. Christian Holmes was injured on the play. After the penalty, the ball was placed on the Washington 22 yard line. Mitchell ran for 5 yards, and after an incompletion, Purdy then hit Aiyuk for the 17 yard touchdown. The extra point was good. 49ers 27, Commanders 10.

It took two plays for Howell to throw another interception on a poor throw to Brian Pringle. Starting at the Washington 41 yard line, the 49ers ran the ball three straight times. Mitchell gained 3 yards, Samuel gained 17 yards and Mitchell then had another carry for 5 yards. Juszczyk caught a 7 yard pass for the first down at the Commanders 9 yard line. The 49ers moved the ball down to the two, but the Commanders kept the 49ers out of the end zone forcing a turnover on downs.

Washington was unable to move the ball from the shadow of their own end zone. Tress Way’s punt was one of the better special teams plays in the game, going 48 yards with an immediate tackle by Pringle for no return.

San Francisco liberally substituted for their starters on offense at this point in the game with a little over two minutes to play. 49ers went three and out and punted the ball back to the Commanders.

With a little over 90 seconds left in the game, the Commanders offense looked completely out of synch, with Howell throwing the ball to nobody on a deep throw. They turned it over on downs back to the 49ers.

The 49ers mercifully ran out the clock to end the pain.

Thoughts

The purge of the front office and coaching staff cannot happen soon enough.

Sam Howell is mentally rattled at this point and is not going to be effective. The question is, can another coaching staff resurrect him?

Washington needs to add a lot of talent on both sides of the ball to be competitive in the NFC East.