The San Francisco 49ers barely hung on by the hair of their chinny chin chin on Monday night, squeaking out a 23-17 win against the Washington Commanders to keep their perfect 6-0 record alive. What started as a blowout with the 49ers leading 23-3 late in the third quarter quickly turned into a nail-biter. Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders refused to go quietly, slashing that lead down to just six points. It was a Jekyll and Hyde performance, honestly: one minute the 49ers offense was unstoppable with a defense perfectly complementing it, and the next, the offense couldn’t move the ball and the defense was stuck on the field. Still, a win is a win, and these two guys were absolutely critical to getting it done.
McCaffrey Carries the Load as 49ers Offense Stalls Out
Monday night was classic Christian McCaffrey, for better or worse. It was the kind of high-usage game we’ve come to expect, honestly, a real throwback to his 2025 workload. You’d think Kyle Shanahan would want to pump the brakes on that, but nope. CMC was a workhorse, racking up 16 touches by halftime alone. He added nine more touches on 20 plays in the second half. This season, his most touches before Week 6 was 19 against Arizona back in Week 3. Good news is, he paid it off with high production. He piled up over 100 scrimmage yards, his second time doing that this season, the other being that Arizona game. He carried the ball 16 times for 64 yards. It shows he can still deliver, but that kind of workload is always a concern.
Mustapha’s Late-Game Heroics Seal the Deal
But let’s be real, the 49ers don’t walk out of Washington with a 6-0 record without Malik Mustapha. This dude was clutch. From the jump, he was making his presence known. Early on, Washington’s Jayden Daniels hit Stefon Diggs for what looked like a first down on third down, but Diggs dropped it. Still, Mustapha came in with a hit so big, if Diggs had held onto that ball, it would’ve been blasted loose. But he saved his biggest fireworks for the end. With the 49ers barely holding onto a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, Washington had a third-and-3. Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough got cheeky, calling a run play right before the two-minute warning, trying to catch the defense napping. Not on Mustapha’s watch. He sniffed it out, met Rachaad White in the hole, and shut him down for no gain, forcing a critical fourth down. Then, on that potential game-tying fourth down, Blough went right back at him. Daniels targeted Treylon Burks on what could have been a 17-yard touchdown to tie the game, but Mustapha laid another monster hit, sending Burks crashing to the ground. The ball popped free, and the 49ers got it back. Yeah, the offense went three-and-out right after, forcing the defense to clean up again, but those two plays from Mustapha? Absolutely won them the game.
It was a wild one, a nail-biter that tested their nerves. But the 49ers escaped 6-0, and they owe a huge chunk of that to Malik Mustapha’s heroics. Can they keep this perfect run going?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Niners Nation.
Leave a Reply