Week 6 - Taking centerstage for Monday Night Football would be the unbeaten (5-0) San Francisco 49ers and the (1-3-1) Washington Commanders in a battle between two teams who have gotten off to very different starts in the early going of the NFL season. While the 49ers entered their Monday Night bout coming off a gutsy road win over the defending Super Bowl champs, the Commanders are fresh off the first tie of the 2026-27 season after failing to get a snap off in overtime against the rival Giants that would've setup a potential game-winning field goal. Unfortunately for them, those same struggles would rear their ugly head once more against San Francisco. With 55 wins on Monday Night Football, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most all-time, Kyle Shanahan's 49ers would have a chance to separate themselves and claim the top spot with another win while also eyeing to improve on their 4-1 record all-time against Washington on Monday Night.
As San Francisco began the game with possession of the ball, MVP front-runner Brock Purdy got things clicking immediately by hitting his receiver Mike Evans down the middle for a big 24-yard gain on 3rd & 4 to extend their opening-drive. Several plays later, Purdy would cap things off with an 11-yard pass into the end zone to a wide-open George Kittle for the early touchdown. After Washington answered with a field goal, Purdy and company picked up right where they left off as the Niners QB connected with Evans yet again for another big gain, this time with a 54-yard reception on the first play of their second possession. Entering the match-up, San Francisco's offense had scored TDs on a league-best 87.5% of red zone drives, whereas Washington's defense had allowed TDs on a league-worst 83.3% of red zone drives. Those stats would prove to be true as the Niners punched in their second touchdown in as many possessions with a 1-yard touchdown from running back Christian McCaffrey, giving his team a 13-3 lead following a missed extra-point by kicker Eddy Pineiro.
With Washington looking to keep things close, quarterback Jayden Daniels did find success when utilizing the deep ball as he connected with his receiving corps on plays of 27 and 29 yards early on. Despite reaching the red zone to start the second quarter, Washington's situational awareness or lack thereof would be on full display for the second straight week when the Commanders elected to go for it on 4th and 2 from San Francisco's 13 yard line and Daniels threw the ball away deep into the end zone without attempting to give any of his teammates a chance at making a play. Not doing himself any favors was head coach Dan Quinn who was seen on the sideline asking his staff what down it was and if they should setup for a field goal after the incomplete pass. Instead, it would be a turnover on downs which San Francisco would be more than happy with. Luckily for Washington, they would get the ball several plays later after forcing a turnover of their own. With the 49ers putting together another nice drive on offense, McCaffrey took a 12-yard gain inside the Washington 20 where he was met from behind with a peanut punch that resulted in a fumble recovery for the Commanders.
The rare McCaffrey mistake would end a streak of over 500 touches without a fumble but would also light a fire under McCaffrey who would get redemption on San Francisco's following possession. After forcing a three and out punt by Washington, the 49ers extended their lead just before the end of the half with McCaffrey leading the way with a rushing touchdown from a yard out, his second of the evening. Capping off a 20-play drive that spanned over 89-yards, San Francisco jumped out to a 20-3 halftime lead. Unfortunately, both teams would take the field in the second half without their respective leading receivers as both Mike Evans and Terry McLaurin had to leave the game in the first half with injuries. While Evans who was already playing with two broken ribs, hit the locker room early with what team doctors described as a sore Achilles tendon, McLaurin had to be carted off the field after suffering a more serious injury to the patella tendon in his left knee. Team doctors would later confirm the worst as McLaurin suffered a season-ending tear. But as the saying goes -- the show must go on.
In what would ultimately be a tale of two halves, things began in a similar fashion before the tables eventually turned. After forcing a Washington punt to open the second half, the 49ers tacked on a field goal that was setup by a 35-yard reception from tight-end George Kittle. With San Francisco now leading 23-3, the Commanders finally began to play inspiring football. With their most successful drive yet, Washington finally found the end zone on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Steffon Diggs. Following a three and out punt by San Francisco, the Commanders would march yet again with a touchdown-scoring drive that would cut the deficit to six with 9:22 remaining in regulation. Aided by numerous penalties by San Francisco's defense that extended the drive and gave new life to the Commanders, you could just feel the momentum shift even while watching from home. Needing to answer with a score of their own or at the very least a long drive, the Niners offense suddenly went cold and was unable to muster anything with each of their three fourth quarter possessions ending with three and out punts while netting a total of 7 yards, clearly missing the on-field presence of Mike Evans.
However, while the offense began to sputter into a full blown tailspin, tallying only 67 yards of offense in the second half including 65 on their first possession, San Francisco's defense stepped up and answered the call when they were needed most. Another nice drive by Washington began to take form as the Commanders reached the red zone. But it would be there where Niners safety Malik Mustapha made a pair of bruising hits that laid bare to Washington's hopes of pulling off a comeback. After forcing the turnover on downs, all San Francisco needed to do was convert a game-sealing first down. Instead, their offensive woes would continue as they appeared to be lost without their star receiver and were forced to punt with a minute to go. With no timeouts remaining, Washington would attempt a last-ditch effort near midfield. After converting a first down that put them at the San Francisco 28 yard line, Daniels made a pivotal mistake when he was pressured and called for an intentional grounding penalty. One play later, Daniels would be taken down by the tandem of Keion White and rookie Romello Height for the game-sealing sack as time expired.
Escaping with the 23-17 victory, San Francisco improved to 6-0 for the first time since 2019 and just the second time under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Hoping history will repeat itself, the past three 6-0 starts have led to an NFC Championship appearance for the 49ers. With 264 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Brock Purdy finished with a QB rating of 111.9, becoming the NFL's all-time leader in passer rating at 105.6 for his career, besting Lamar Jackson's previous mark of 102.7. Purdy also became one of only two quarterbacks to ever start a season 6-0 with 15+ total touchdowns and 2 or fewer turnovers with Tom Brady in 2015 being the other. Purdy's counterpart Jayden Daniels also finished with an impressive performance, especially considering his team's slow start and the fact that his leading receiver would be lost before halftime. Daniels threw for an even 300 yards and 2 touchdowns in the loss. One area San Francisco did excel in against Daniels was in the sacks department as defensive coordinator Raheem Morris' unit totaled four sacks on the night, bringing their season total to 15 sacks. In comparison, San Francisco forced only 7 sacks at this point a season ago.
Week 7 Preview: Hitting the road to face the (2-4) Atlanta Falcons, emotions will be especially high for one Raheem Morris as the 49ers current defensive coordinator will face his former team for the first time since being fired as head coach back in January after spending the last two seasons at the helm in Atlanta. Meanwhile, current Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will look to play spoiler and hand both Morris and the 49ers their first loss of the season. With San Francisco's Bye week on the horizon in Week 8 and receiver Mike Evans expected to miss some time while dealing with Achilles tendinitis, Brock Purdy and the 49er offense will need contributions elsewhere as Deebo Samuel is also working to get back from a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined in Week 6. The team is hopeful they will see receiver Christian Kirk for the first time this season after signing the 8-year veteran to a one-year contract during the offseason. With plenty of question marks surrounding the 49ers' receiving corps heading into Atlanta, we might be slated for another tilt where the defense is asked to step up and deliver another win, although they will also have their hands full with All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson.
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