The San Francisco 49ers almost handed the Washington Commanders a massive upset on Monday night, barely holding onto a 23-17 win after letting a 20-point lead evaporate in the fourth quarter. This close call puts a spotlight on their next game: an opportunity to go into the bye week undefeated with a win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
That D-Line Is Getting SCARY, Folks
Suddenly, the 49ers have a defensive line that looks absolutely solid, and it’s mostly thanks to the ascension of Gracen Halton. He continued his good form against the Commanders with a sack and a tackle for loss. What’s wild is that 21 of the 49ers’ 25 pressures came from that defensive line. Rookie Romello Height led the charge with five pressures, even sharing a sack with Keion White to help close out the game. White himself had four pressures. Mykel Williams, in just his second game back from an ACL tear, also joined the party with three pressures and a sack to end Washington’s opening drive of the second half. Not to be outdone, veteran Osa Odighizuwa matched Height with five pressures and sacked Daniels once from the interior. Oh, and this defensive front also held Washington to just 53 rushing yards on 17 attempts. With Nick Bosa nearing his return, and whispers about potential deadline trades for guys like Khalil Mack or DeForest Buckner, this group is only going to get deeper. It’s a problem for the rest of the league.
Pineiro’s Kicking Has Gone From Hero To Zero
Remember last season? Eddy Pineiro was the Golden Boy for the 49ers, replacing Jake Moody and missing only five kicks in 14 games. He was money, converting 28-of-29 field goals and making 34-of-38 PATs. Well, that honeymoon is SO over. In just six games this season, Pineiro has already missed six kicks, with at least one miss in each of his last four games. He’s missed three field goals already, going six-for-nine, including one that got away from him against Seattle. But the missed PATs are a growing concern. He missed his third of the season on Monday night, and that almost cost San Francisco big time. It seemed like just an “oops” when it happened, keeping them at 13 points after their second touchdown, but when Washington mounted that comeback, that miss suddenly loomed large.
So, the 49ers head into Week 7 with a chance to go into their bye week a perfect 7-0 against Atlanta. With a defensive line that’s absolutely dominating and a kicker who can’t seem to find the uprights, it’s going to be wild to see if these two narratives can somehow coexist for an undefeated run. You gotta wonder if that kicker situation could eventually catch up to them.
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