49ers dominate Commanders in 37-20 win; Five burning questions answered

Posted By on December 24, 2022

The San Francisco 49ers used a dominant second half effort to defeat the Washington Commanders by a score of 37-20 on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.

It was anyone’s game at the half. Despite the Commanders dominating time of possession the score was tied at seven.

The 49ers passed up points on their opening possession and were stuffed on fourth and one. In the second quarter the San Francisco defense stopped Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. on consecutive rush attempts for a goalline stand.

For the second week in a row San Francisco opened the second half with a touchdown. Brock Purdy connected on consecutive throws of 13-yards to George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk before finding Kittle deep down the middle from 34-yards out.

After stopping Washington on fourth and short for the second time in the game, San Francisco wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. After a play fake Purdy rolled left and found Kittle with a short pass which the tight end took the rest of the way for a 33-yard touchdown.

From that point on the 49ers defense took over, forcing a pair of turnovers and the route was on.

Here are the answers to the five questions I asked prior to the game.

1.) Will Brock Purdy find a rhythm? YES

Purdy started out slow, completing only four of nine attempts for 55 yards in the first half. In the second quarter he had his first big turnover since stepping into the lineup. Purdy threw a quick slant to Jauan Jennings which hit the receiver on the hip. Jennings could not bring it in, and the ball bounced into the hands of Commanders defender Darrick Forrest.

After completing only four of nine attempts for 55 yards in the first half, Purdy found his rhythm in the second half leading to several explosive plays.

After opening up the half with a 34 yard touchdown connection to George Kittle, Purdy again found the tight end. This time Kittle took a short throw from Purdy for a 33-yard score.

Purdy wasn’t done yet. The rookie opened the next possession by finding Aiyuk to the left side, and the receiver took off down the sideline for a gain of 54.

In the second half Purdy completed 11 of 13 attempts for 179 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the day with a career-high 234 yards.

2.) Can the 49ers offensive line get the job done? YES

Facing one of the best defensive lines in the NFL, San Francisco allowed Washington to hit Brock Purdy only three times. They also allowed only two sacks.

The offensive line also did a solid job in the running game throughout leading to 153 yards on 26 carries. Just past the midpoint of the second half came the first explosive run of the game for San Francisco. Ray-Ray McCloud took the ball and ran untouched around the right side of the Washington defense for a 71-yard touchdown to get San Francisco on the scoreboard for the first time.

3.) Can the 49ers defense take away the Washington running game? YES

San Francisco held Washington to only 79 yards on 33 attempts. Washington ran the ball 17 times on first down and gained only 29 yards.

The 49ers also kept their season long streak of holding opposing running backs under 60 yards intact. They held Brian Robinson Jr. to only 58 yards in 22 attempts’

4.) Can the 49ers force Taylor Heinicke into mistakes? YES

Heinicke was solid in the first half, hitting several big throws on third down to help Washington go into the half tied.

The wheels came off in the second half. Nick Bosa got to the Washington quarterback early in the fourth quarter, sacking the quarterback and forcing a fumble which was recovered by Jordan Willis.

On the following Commanders possession Jimmie Ward picked off a Heinicke pass intended for Robinson Jr. It was Ward’s third interception of the season, a career high.

5.) Which team creates the most turnovers? 49ers

Although the 49ers turned the ball over first, the defense came through with a pair of turnovers in the second half leading to six points.

In addition to the turnovers San Francisco’s defense stuffed Washington on fourth down deep in their own end. Two plays later the 49ers were in the endzone on Purdy’s second touchdown pass of the game to George Kittle.

Prediction:

49ers 17 Commanders 13

This article has 34 Comments

  1. I hate to sound like G. Cohn but if you take away McClouds run they were 25 carries for 82 yards. The most important blocks on the McCloud’s TD were executed by RBs, WRs and TEs . This games OL performance was the definition of inconsistent. This was absolutely the best game the ST’s has had. They are hitting their stride at a perfect time. The O was great and can only get better when Deebo returns. Lastly, should the 9ers activate Jimmy G. (to be Purdy’s backup) or should they activate Mitchell? I think they can only activate one of them.

    1. A run game can’t live on WR sweeps around the end. The meat and potatoes runs were mostly stuffed today. Jack has pointed out that this OL is better at pass blocking than run blocking, and the OL is especially bad at power blocks in short yardage. This is just the way it is this season.

      TDP made nobody change their mind that Mason is the guy after CMC. Having Mitchell in the mix would be good too, but he hasn’t stayed healthy all year. I wish Kyle would mix Mason in more with CMC, especially in short yard situations, CMC isn’t built for those runs.

    2. Take away Kittle’s 2 TD catches of 33 & 34 yds and look at the passing stats and the score. Every play counts in the end and removing the big plays distorts the results. Little Cone is always looking to stir the pot, I fully expect some player to confront him at some point.

    5. But at the same time the End Around by McCloud counts. You can’t just say it doesn’t count. But I get the point about how most of the rest of the rushing offense was slowed down and stuffed. The way I look at it is that the reliability or a mode statistic over average needs to be considered. So I’d say that 26 attempts for 153 yards for 5.9 yards/carry and 2 TDs is worth about an A- grade. But if you factor in a poor mode (I’m guessing it’s bad) then the grade is more like a B-.

    6. “WE WANT NO NEGATIVES! We look at pass as yes/no, big/ little, big plays and zero plays (w/ negatives). Out of a certain number of passes, we expect a certain number of failures. That is the nature of the passing game.

      But the run game the exact opposite. We want NO negatives. We do not want to run plays that are big/ little, even at the expense of big plays, we do not want it. We want the system where even the “bad” play gains something. The entire objective is to stay out of 3rd and long. We throw out the run plays with which we cannot consistently avoid negatives.

      Screw averages. We want medians. The back might average 7 yards per carry, but how often did he get stuffed and put us in 3rd and 10, causing a turnover.

      And we do this by eliminating penetration and running a limited number of plays to perfection.”
      -Alex Gibbs Godfather of the Wide Zone Run Game

  2. What a nice holiday gift, a convining win by the 9ers. ( My wife ,bless her, called it a Spanking!)
    Happy Holidays.
    Go 9ers.

  3. All questions answered yes and a 17 point victory. It doesn’t get much better than this. We have a great team.

      1. I’d say Super bowl contender. I see about 4 teams that are capable of winning, the Niners being one. Time will tell. Besides being good, you also have to be healthy and lucky to win a Super Bowl.

      2. I’d say Super bowl contender. I see about 4 teams that are capable of winning, the Niners being one. Time will tell. Besides being good, you also have to be healthy and lucky to win a Super Bowl.

        1. If they keep this up then good enough to win the SB this year. For those that remember the 80s and early 90s this team is starting to look the part.

  5. 6th Question answered: Grant Cohn is bitter every week because his wife refuses to get rid of that 49ers #10 jersey! Everyone can see that the secondary is susceptible to big plays, and they can get toasted by Mahome, Hurts or Allen in playoffs. Please keep the D line heathy. It’s tough to stop Bosa from playing because he is hungry to break Jadon Smith’s record.

  7. So took my boys to their first Niner game yesterday. My last game was years ago at Candlestick so my first time at Levi too. We had first level seats. What a great experience. We tailgated, met some friends there, shopped and toured the museum. Add the fact that the niners won handily and it was a really cool experience!

  8. Merry Christmas to the 49ers for giving the 49ers Faithful an exciting season.
    The defense has been a wrecking ball since the KC loss and the Oline (I’m proud to say) has been a pleasant surprise.

    Per DavidDavid Lombardi
    @LombardiHimself
    “13m
    49ers’ trenches vs Washington…
    D-line pressures generated: 31
    O-line pressures allowed: 4
    Another week, another lopsided number. SF’s offensive line is also playing very well.”

    1. AES
      If KS wants a dominating run game in the playoffs, this O-Line has not shown it can’t provide that. fortunately, the pass blocking has improved.
      * Other than Ray-Ray McClouds carry for 71 yards & TD, McCaffrey only had 15 carries for 46 yards, including a 1 yard TD. TDP had 9 carries for 30 yards. 76 yards against a top D isn’t a dominating run game.
      * IMO, Purdy & Kittle carried the 9ers completing 15 of 22 passes for 234 yards and 2 TD’s t Kittle had 6 catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Aiyuk also caught 5 passes for 81 yards.
      * Reason for optimism: Mitchell, Deebo and Mason should all return and be healthy for the playoffs.

  9. I hear you, GEEP.
    I believe that Cohn first came up with the “if it wasn’t for” term back when Frank Gore was the RB.
    I don’t give much credence to that mindset. For me, every play adds to the full context of the game.

    A Hail-Mary TD win falls under Cohn’s “if it wasn’t for” theory.
    I’m old school, a win is a win is a win, lol.

    1. Good analysis and I agree. Some people, actually many people, like to nit pic every play and draw conclusions about things they know little about. Many teams this year have sold out against the run especially since Purdy became the quarterback. That seems like a good game plan but it hasn’t been working for them. Sometimes your opponent is just very good against the run so you game plan for that.
      We have top notch receivers, top notch D line, top notch linebackers etc. in some others area we aren’t top notch and it’s near impossible to be top notch at everything and you don’t need to be. You only need to be better than the other team. It’s a team sport and teams win or lose.

    2. Grant is all about theater…and, his standard ‘if it wasn’t for’ retorts are getting old…he seems unable to accept the teams success thus far, and finds a reason to criticize the things the 9ers do..…winning is all that matters, regardless of how it’s accomplished…it doesn’t do any team much good if they have a 1500 yd running back or a qb that throws for 300+yds a game, if the team finishes at .500 or less…as the season rolls on, the 49ers are giving him less and less to complain about…

      1. 55Niner: “Grant is all about theater.”
        You sir are TOO GENEROUS! Cohn is a bloviating buffoon that would be selling pencils on a street corner, if he wasn’t his fathers child.
        As the old adage goes. “Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.” Grant Cohn is arrogant enough to pretend he hit a home run!

  10. MY CHRISTMAS WISH LIST:
    * A second home game at Levi stadium for the 9ers in the playoffs!
    * Vikings lose to the Packers week 17 01/01/2023 and the 9ers win out and move into the 2nd seed…..

  13. What a great win! Before Purdy, I would worry about our 2nd half performance. But man, Purdy made it possible. Love this kid!!

    What go really lucky with him landing in our lap.

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