Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass, Christian McCaffrey ran for two scores and the San Francisco 49ers held on to beat the Washington Commanders 23-17 for their sixth straight win to start the season on Monday night. The Niners followed up an emotional win last week at division rival Seattle by building a 20-point lead and holding off the Commanders (1-4-1) with two late defensive stops. Jayden Daniels threw two touchdown passes in the second half to cut a 20-point deficit to 23-17, but Malik Mustapha broke up a fourth-down pass to Treylon Burks near the goal line with 1:54 to play to preserve the lead.
Washington got the ball back at its 46 with 52 seconds remaining and moved down to the 28 before Daniels was called for intentional grounding, giving the Commanders one last play from the 40. Daniels was then sacked by Keion White and Ogbo Okoronkwo before he could throw up a desperation pass. "You're not always happy exactly with how some of the stuff was frustrating, but real proud of the guys for just the competitive stamina to keep it going all game," said head coach Kyle Shanahan.
"I was really proud of the defense for finding a way to overcome." The Niners extended their best start of a season since winning their first eight games in 2019 on the way to a Super Bowl appearance. Washington lost star wide receiver Terry McLaurin to a left knee injury that required an air cast before he was carted off in the first quarter. Purdy started the game fast with a 24-yard strike to Mike Evans on the third play of the game and an 11-yard touchdown to George Kittle to finish that drive.
Evans exited the game later in the first haff with Achilles tendinitis. Purdy went 21 for 29 for 264 yards and officially became the highest-rated passer in NFL history as he passed the 1,500-attempt threshold to qualify. His 105.6 rating is ahead of Lamar Jackson's 102.7.
The Commanders were unable to bounce back from last week's tie against the New York Giants, when they mismanaged the clock in overtime to cost them a chance at a game-winning field goal. The game was one-sided early with the 49ers scoring touchdowns on the first two drives on Purdy's pass to Kittle and a 1-yard run by McCaffrey. San Francisco expanded the lead to 20-3 late in the half on McCaffrey's second touchdown run as the Niners gained as many first downs (17) in the first half as the Commanders ran plays.
The 49ers outgained Washington 303 yards to 90 in the half with Washington's best chance at scoring a touchdown in the first half ending when Daniels threw the ball away on fourth-and-2 from the 13. Watch the 2026 NFL season live on Sky Sports, including every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LXI on Sunday February 14, 2027. Get latest Sky Sports deals or stream with no contract on NOW.
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