The undefeated San Francisco 49ers somehow held on for a 23-17 victory against the Washington Commanders on Monday night, but it wasn’t nearly as clean as the score suggests. Washington, after being down 23-3, fought back hard with 14 straight points, only to see their final drive ended by a sack on Jayden Daniels. This one had all the drama, but the Commanders kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Washington’s Self-Inflicted Wounds Were Killer
You can’t make these kinds of mistakes against an undefeated team and expect to win. Washington really shot themselves in the foot throughout this game. A huge touchdown was ripped off the board in the first half because of a facemask penalty on lineman Chris Paul, wiping out a sweet 31-yard scoring run by Jeremy McNichols. That’s a gut punch, right? Imagine the momentum shift if that score stood! Instead, it was nullified, and the Commanders lost a critical score that could have turned the tide way earlier.
Time Management Nightmares and a Brutal Injury
Beyond that killer penalty, Washington’s time management was a straight-up mess. In the first half, they had a 4th-and-2 at the 49ers’ 13-yard line, went for it, and got stuffed. What’s wild is that Quinn, the coach, apparently didn’t even realize it was fourth down, looking ready to send out the field goal unit! Then, in the fourth quarter, Jayden Daniels had to burn a timeout with the clock stopped, leaving them with just two instead of three precious timeouts in the final minutes. That is absolutely brutal when you’re trying to mount a comeback.
Meanwhile, the 49ers took a massive hit, losing their elite wide receiver Mike Evans to an Achilles injury at the end of the first half. He already had 94 receiving yards on three catches before going down. Despite that huge loss, San Francisco still found a way to win, largely thanks to Washington’s missteps.
Washington didn’t play as poorly as they did against the Giants, but these kinds of errors are killers when you’re trying to take down an undefeated squad. For the 49ers, they dodged a bullet and kept their perfect streak alive, but losing Evans to an Achilles injury is a brutal blow moving forward. This win felt less about their dominance and more about Washington’s inability to close.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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