A victory is a victory. October’s ugly wins don’t affect playoff seeding. We saw the Rams and Seahawks lose this same game in Week 6.
That’s not to say the San Francisco 49ers can get away with making three field goals three times in a row to end a game, or giving their opponents multiple first downs via penalty kick. Overcoming self-inflicted wounds and coming away with a victory is the story of a competitor.
Here are the winners and losers for week 6
Before leaving with an injury, Evans was once again Brock Purdy’s favorite target in recent practice. 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 and mundane 25 yard circuit breaker. It’s fascinating how different the offense looks with Evans on the field.
Evans had four more yards than Washington at halftime.
The offense finished the game with three straight three-and-outs. It’s not something we’re used to seeing. That’s because Evans was their lifeline.
Mustapha had some scary hits in this one. He had a running stop on third down, the game-clinching play on fourth down, and also had a quarterback hit. He set the tone early on with a big lick on Stefon Diggs. He is one of the only trustworthy members of the secondary.
Week 6 felt like there were multiple hits at the 2022 level. Where the projected running backs or wideouts were flat to contact. Mustapha is one of the main reasons for this. He keeps receivers guessing by catching the ball over the middle and stopping ball carriers in their tracks.
Height finished the game with a Next Gen Stats pressure rate of 21.7% (league average is just under 13%) and saved his highest-scoring plays when the 49ers needed them most. White’s 0.72 exit time was the fastest among 49ers defenders this season.
He led the 49ers with four quarterback hits and finished with a shared sack. Height drew penalties and was active for much of the second half, living in the Washington backfield. If the 49ers want to play with the lead, they will need their pass rush to bail out their secondary. The height took place Monday evening.
Eleven of Purdy’s 29 attempts totaled more than 10 yards, but he still completed 72.4 percent of his passes. He had the sixth-best 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 aggression was on full display with Mike Evans on the field. He threw three completions of over 20 yards and two completions of over 14 yards. Purdy threw diapers but also threw some seeds.
No quarterback generated more EPA with his legs than Purdy this week, nearly double that of the second-ranked quarterback. He picked up a few first downs in short-yardage situations and ran for another 24 yards, including a key 11-yard conversion.
White has been a revelation this season. He had five pressures and a half-sack to end the game. It’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 snaps.
White constantly flashes into the backfield and moves the quarterback out of his spot. He’s the ideal interior rusher.
Negligent. You can understand the intention of the defense. They were hitting. But that led to headhunting and unnecessary helmet-to-helmet/roughing penalties – and some were called back.
The 49ers allowed Washington four first downs on penalties. In total, they had 11 yards out of 88. That’s how you lose the game. The one-win team didn’t capitalize. Just about any other team will.
It’s never easy to arrive cold at the end of a match. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to serve as a filter when it comes to media coverage.
One of Raheem Morris’s few missteps this season was replacing Davis with Jack Jones, a decision they made on the final drive. Davis allowed all four of his targets to be completed, including a 30-yarder. He had a ticking penalty, but it still benefited the commanders. He was a free runner on a well-planned 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.
Green came back down to earth a week after two interceptions. It was fortunate that Daniels flew a deep crossing route, as the younger McCaffrey had a step on Green more than 25 yards downfield.
For the game, Green allowed three of his four targets to be completed for 68 yards and took one penalty. He also missed a tackle. Washington was going to throw the ball, but that’s no excuse to give up big plays and first downs. It’s better than that.
If you were asked which offensive lineman allowed more than one pressure, the easy answer would be Connor Colby. You would 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 put pressure on Puni. He was beaten four times.
The writing is on the wall for Cowing, whose snap count is down to 15. Cowing has had every opportunity over the past month to carve out a role, but he hasn’t opened up. Brandin Cooks doubled Cowing’s shots. If Christian Kirk returns, Cowing could be inactive with Jordan Watkins returning punts.
That’s because Cowing’s second leg was an adventure. He missed a punt after catching it at the six-yard line. He left his feet and dove to catch another punt. He asks to be put on the bench to make his decision.
Lenoir’s confidence from the first month no longer exists.
According to 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 near-perfect passer rating of 149.3. None of his targets were narrow windows.
For the second week in a row, Lenoir gave up ground and backpedaled almost into the end zone when the ball was thrown to him. Cooper Kupp picked up a first down last week. Rachaad White scored this week.
The goals are not competitive, which is concerning. It feels like a time in the past, when the defensive line masks a fragile secondary.
The honeymoon phase is officially over with Pineiro, who missed his third extra point of the year. He is 31st in field goal percentage and 28th in extra point percentage. Pineiro can right those wrongs by finishing the year strong, but field goals decide playoff games. We wonder if Kyle Shanahan will lean on his offense throughout the sequence instead of putting the game on the line with a kicker who can’t crack the uprights.
Williams had a sack and a tackle for loss in 25 snaps. He managed to achieve a pressure rate of 15%, which is the most encouraging sign. There haven’t been many plays against the run, which is Mykel’s calling card. So, seeing him flash a few times as a passer should give the player returning from injury even more confidence.
Gracen Halton suffered a quad injury before this match. He was beaten by Sebastian Valdez. James Thompson returned, but Osa Odighizuwa thrived against the Commanders’ heavy attack.
Osa led the way with four pressures and made a team-high five impact plays, according to Sumer Sports. Odighizuwa also led the team with a 19.4% win rate. Odighizuwa and Valdez both suffered stoppages.
Valdez continues to impress. One wonders what it would be like if Alfred Collins and CJ West had never been injured. Valdez clearly produces more than either of them would and could do. Valdez had the highest pressure rate at 18.8%.
Halton and Odighizuwa had sacks. The trio had one tackle for loss each. This position group has been the biggest pleasant surprise of the season, and they continue to show up every week.
They’ve been penalized twice, which they obviously can’t afford moving forward.
Puni’s four pressures were the only wart in this group. Some ill-advised detention penalties could have gone unheeded. However, both running backs had over 1.25 yards before contact and had rushing success rates above 60%.
Purdy blamed himself for a sack. I blame the broads for the other one. Purdy was pressured on only 20.6 percent of his dropbacks – the best mark in Week 6. The average pressure time 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!
Gn sports
