49ers remain unbeaten after staving off Commanders’ comeback bid

Brock Purdy threw for 264 yards and a touchdown, Christian McCaffrey rushed for two scores, and the San Francisco 49ers remained unbeaten with a 23-17 win over the Washington Commanders on Monday night in Santa Clara, California.

The 49ers withstood a second-half rally by Washington and moved to 6-0 for the first time since 2019, when they opened with eight straight wins in a season when they reached the Super Bowl.

Purdy completed 21 of 29 passes and recorded his 36th win in 56 regular-season starts. McCaffrey had 16 carries for 64 yards and nine receptions for 53 yards.

San Francisco led 23-3 late in the third quarter before Washington scored 14 unanswered points. The Commanders trailed 23-17 and reached the 49ers’ 17-yard line with two minutes remaining before Malik Mustafa broke up a fourth-down pass to Treylon Burks at the goal line.

After forcing the 49ers to punt, Washington got the ball back at its own 46-yard line with 52 seconds left. The Commanders reached San Francisco’s 28-yard line, but Jayden Daniels was sacked by Romello Height and Keion White on the game’s final play.

Daniels finished 29 of 40 for 300 yards with two touchdown passes for the Commanders (1-4-1), who are winless in their past three games (0-2-1).

San Francisco led 20-3 at halftime after piling up a 303-90 advantage in total yards. Purdy capped the 49ers’ opening drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle.

Washington answered with Drew Stevens’ 51-yard field goal before Purdy began the 49ers’ next drive with a 54-yard completion to Mike Evans. After McCaffrey capped the eight-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, Eddy Pineiro missed the extra-point attempt.

Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin was carted off the field late in the first quarter due to a knee injury.

Evans, who was listed as questionable to play, had three receptions for 94 yards before exiting just prior to halftime after aggravating his Achilles injury.

San Francisco added to its lead with 13 seconds left in the half when McCaffrey capped a 14-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

After the 49ers moved ahead 23-3 on Pineiro’s 33-yard field goal with 5:56 to go in the third quarter, Washington cut into the deficit on Daniels’ 1-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs late in the period.

The Commanders pulled within 23-17 with 9:22 left in the fourth quarter when Daniels connected with Rachaad White on a 9-yard touchdown pass.