49ers hold off Commanders 23-17 to reach 6-0 as McCaffrey brothers meet on Monday night

A late stop seals the win

The San Francisco 49ers beat the Washington Commanders 23-17 on Monday night at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, improving to 6-0 for the first time since 2019. Washington dropped to 1-4-1, a week after it tied the New York Giants. ^{[1] [3]}

The 49ers led 20-3 at halftime, but Jayden Daniels threw two touchdown passes after the break to pull Washington within six. Safety Malik Mustapha then broke up a fourth-down pass to Treylon Burks near the goal line with 1:54 left, according to the Associated Press. ^{[1] [4]}

Washington got one more chance, starting at its own 46 with 52 seconds left. Daniels was flagged for intentional grounding, and Keion White and another defender sacked him on the next snap to end the game, the AP reported. Local coverage names the second defender as Romello Height; the AP names Ogbo Okoronkwo, and the two accounts differ. ^{[1] [2] [4]}

The McCaffrey brothers

The game put Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco's running back, opposite his younger brother Luke, a Washington receiver and returner. Christian scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and again late in the first half, the second touchdown making it 20-3. ^{[1] [4]}

Luke had no offensive statistics and returned three kicks for 72 yards, NBC Sports Bay Area reported. The two met at midfield after the game and swapped jerseys. Late in the game, Luke drew a 15-yard penalty on San Francisco's Siran Neal for a hit after a fair catch signal, which put Washington in better field position on its final drive, 49ers Webzone reported. ^{[2] [4]}

Scoring and standouts

Brock Purdy threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle in the first quarter. Purdy finished 21 of 29 for 264 yards with one touchdown, per NBC Sports Bay Area, which also reported that he now holds the highest career passer rating in NFL history. The AP put his rating at 105.6 and noted Lamar Jackson's at 102.7. ^{[1] [2]}

For Washington, Daniels threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs in the third quarter and a 9-yard touchdown pass to Rachaad White in the fourth, according to 49ers Webzone. Kicker Eddy Pineiro missed two extra points for San Francisco, the same outlet said, which left the margin at six. ^[4]

Injuries

San Francisco receiver Mike Evans left late in the first half with an Achilles tendon injury. The AP said he had missed practice earlier in the week with tendon soreness and broken ribs. He had three catches for 94 yards before leaving, per NBC Sports Bay Area. ^{[1] [2]}

Washington receiver Terry McLaurin was carted off in the first quarter with a left knee injury, and defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw also left in the first half with a knee injury, the AP reported. Neither team had released further detail on any of the injuries in the sources reviewed. ^[1]

What comes next

San Francisco plays at Atlanta on Sunday on a short week, its last game before a bye, and leads Seattle by three games in the NFC West, NBC Sports Bay Area reported. Washington is off next week and hosts Philadelphia on Nov. 1. Evans' status is the main open question for the 49ers. ^{[1] [2]}