The San Francisco 49ers were able to pull out a 23-17 victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday night, but it turned out to be closer than expected after the Niners dominated the first half and held a 23-3 lead at one point.
The 49ers were going through three quarters, as they had scored on four of their six drives, while maintaining a few long possessions. However, in the fourth quarter, their defense was on the field for most of the quarter while the offense was down three on three consecutive possessions.
In the first two, San Francisco called six straight passes. With the first series of downs, the 49ers went back on first down and Brock Purdy took a sack. This forced them to throw long distances on second and third down, and the 49ers punted on 4th and 11. On the second possession, Purdy rushed for six on a first down, but took a sack on 2nd and 4, setting up another third and long and a punt.
The quick possessions didn’t hurt them, as the 49ers forced a turnover on downs and ended a different drive on a sack to end the game, but there were questions about Shanahan’s play down the stretch. What was going through the head coach’s head?
“It was a frustrating finish there, just making three points on those last three drives on offense, having a chance to put them away,” Shanahan said. “To think we did it a few times and then having those penalties kept those drives going. Yeah, you’re not always happy with exactly how it (went). Some things were frustrating. But I’m really proud of the guys for their competitive stamina to keep going the whole game.
“The first half obviously looked like we were going to run away, especially opening the third quarter. They made a big play. I thought we got a touchdown. I think it was number four (Frankie Luvu) tipping the ball, holding us to the field goal. They made some big plays. But just the persistence of the defense, putting them back on the field those three drives in a row. Losing a couple key players. Jalen Graham has to going in there losing (Luke) Gifford played a lot in the base game Losing (Upton) Stout there where Ashtyn Davis came in and played a key role in the fourth quarter I was really, really proud of the defense for finding a way to overcome all those penalties and not helping them on O in the fourth quarter.
The offense started the second half on a high note, running 11 plays for 65 yards in a six-minute drive and nearly scoring a touchdown before settling for a field goal to extend the lead to 23-3.
“I thought we had tremendous momentum to start,” Shanahan said of the team’s offense in the second half. “I think we were going to score. I think Brock ripped that ball, he just got tipped. Then the next three drives were just frustrating. We got sacked on the first on first-and-10, we put it on second-and-20. We couldn’t beat second-and-20. The next time we got to second-and-four. We probably should have called a run, but I was expecting a scoring blitz and we got it and our hot route just We couldn’t get rid of it, so we took another sack Then the third time was only four minutes so we were trying to cut down on their timeouts.
How bad was the loss of Mike Evans given how the offense struggled in the second half?
“It’s a really big deal when you lose a player like Mike, but I think our first drive (in the second half) was one of our best drives of the game,” Shanahan added. “We ran the ball really well, we just got a ball on third down that would have been a score and we made a field goal. The next two drives we got a sack on first down, we punted on second and 20th down. We went three-and-out each time and then the fourth time it was a four-minute drill. We were trying to run out the clock.
“So the way it happened, Mike wouldn’t have had a chance to make much of an impact in the second half. Now, if we had had some first downs and stuff and started driving, then you would have felt his lack of presence. But we didn’t have enough first downs to really show where we would be missing him.”
After the game, Brock Purdy took responsibility for the sacks, while acknowledging he could have been better in the second half.
“Obviously, offensively and for me, in the second half, it’s tough to do what we did, three-and-outs,” Purdy said. “I think there’s some plays where I could have been better, for sure, at getting the ball out and whatnot instead of taking a couple sacks. But, for our defense to do what they did, obviously I know it sounds cheesy, but I mean it’s true, it’s a team win. It takes a whole team collectively for four quarters. And so, for our defense to do what they did at the end, it was really impressive.”
“I think we were ready with our plan,” the quarterback added. “In the first half, I obviously didn’t feel like they did it as much. In the second half, I just thought they did a good job of just being a little disruptive and taking away checks, kind of making me hold the ball. So it’s still up to me on certain plays to get the ball out. But overall, it’s a really good plan. I respect them a lot.”
Despite some offensive struggles to finish the game, San Francisco’s defense kept the Commanders at bay. As a result, the 49ers are 6-0 and they will have the opportunity to clean house with Mike Evans potentially against the Falcons next weekend.
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