After San Francisco marched 50-yards on nine plays on their first possession of the game before making it to the red zone and failing to convert on a 4th and 1 from the Washington 15-yard line, their defense returned the favor to do the Commanders one better. Embarking on an 18-play drive that went 79 yards and spanned nearly 11-minutes long, Washington's ground attack could not break thru from the 1-yard line as they were stuffed at the goal-line. Taking over at their own 1, Purdy and company was able to get some space with their own rushing attack before a big play from receiver Ray-Ray McCloud. Filling in for the injured Deebo Samuel, McCloud showed shades of his dynamic teammate when he went in motion to take a handoff and darted free for a 71-yard touchdown run to give his team a 7-0 lead. The play would mark the 49ers' longest play of the season and the first rushing touchdown of McCloud's career. Fittingly enough, Deebo would be one of the first members on the 49ers sideline to congratulate McCloud for his big play. But the festivities on the San Francisco sidelined would be short lived as their next possession went up in flames in a hurry.
Looking to tack on and add to their lead before the half, Brock Purdy would have his first down pass intercepted when Juaun Jennings bobbled the ball and batted it into the air which allowed a Washington defender to make an easy grab. Capitalizing on the turnover, Commanders QB Tyler Heinicke found rookie receiver Jahan Dotson in the back of the end zone for the game-tying touchdown. With the game all knotted up at 7 at the half and Purdy completing less than 50% of his passes thru the first two quarters, coach Shanahan made a much needed offensive adjustment. Receiving the second half kickoff, San Francisco's offense put up points for the 9th time in 15 games this season to open the second half when Purdy connected with tight-end George Kittle on a 34-yard touchdown. After forcing another Washington turnover on downs, Purdy found Kittle again for a 33-yard score, this time allowing Kittle to do what he's best at by piling on yards after the catch. The touchdown connection from Purdy to Kittle would be their second of the game and fourth in the last two weeks. However, Washington would again make things interesting after a 51-yard bomb to Pro Bowl receiver Terry McLaurin set up a short touchdown pass from Heinicke to McLaurin just two plays later.
After answering with a Robbie Gould field goal, the San Francisco defense would put their stamp on the game with back to back turnovers forced on a strip-sack fumble by Nick Bosa and a Jimmie Ward interception which led to another pair of field goals. After seeing enough of Heinicke who seemed to be rattled following the big hit from Bosa, Ron Rivera called on Carson Wentz to finish the game at quarterback. And while Wentz would march Washington down the field for a touchdown capped off by a 20-yard strike to receiver Curtis Samuel, San Francisco would ice the game with one final touchdown-scoring drive of their own as Christian McCaffrey scored from a yard out to land the final blow. Pulling off the 37-20 victory, the 49ers won their eighth straight game to improve to 11-4 on the year. Throwing for 234 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in the win, Brock Purdy became the only QB in 49ers franchise history to win his first three NFL starts. Tight-end George Kittle led all receivers with 120 yards and 2 touchdowns on six receptions. San Francisco's Ray-Ray McCloud had only one carry on the afternoon and made it count as he led all rushers with 71-yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Nick Bosa added two more sacks to his NFL-leading season total of 17.5, furthering his campaign for this year's NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. Bosa is also creeping up on the franchise-record for the most sacks in a single-season held by Aldon Smith (19.5).
Week 17 Preview: Making a trip to Sin City to face the (6-9) Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium for the first time since their relocation from Oakland, the (11-4) 49ers will look to log their ninth consecutive win when they face off against their former Bay Area rival on New Year's Day. Turning the page on 2022, the Niners hope to see continued success in the new year, only with a twist in the continued Quest For Six. Under first-year head coach Josh McDaniel, the Raiders have been one of the bigger disappointments in the NFL this season, despite having fought back a bit from a 2-7 record thru the first 10 weeks of the season. Coming off a 13-10 loss on the road in Pittsburgh on Christmas eve in which the Raiders let a 10-6 lead slip away in the final minute and were intercepted in a last-ditch effort of their own, Vegas is hanging on for dear life with their playoff hopes slowly fading away. They'll need to turn things around fast and hope for a handful of other scenarios to take place as their playoff chances dropped from 7% to just 1% following their loss to Pittsburgh.
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