The San Francisco 49ers managed to pull off a 23-17 victory over the Washington Commanders on Monday night, but it ended up being closer than expected after the Niners dominated the first half and held a 23-3 lead at one point. The 49ers were cruising through three quarters, having scored on four of their six drives, while maintaining a couple of long possessions. However, in the fourth quarter, their defense was on the field for most of the quarter as the offense went three on three straight possessions. In the first two, San Francisco called six pass plays in a row. On the first series of downs, the 49ers backpedaled on the first down and Brock Purdy took a sack. That forced them to throw from long range on second and third downs, and the 49ers punted on 4th and 11. On the second possession, Purdy got six on a first down, but suffered a sack on 2nd and 4, setting up another third-and-long and a punt. but there were questions about Shanahan’s decisions down the stretch. What was going through the head coach’s mind? “It was a frustrating ending, just making three and coming out on those last three offensive drives, having a chance to score them,” Shanahan said. “To think we did it a couple of times and then having those penalties kept those gains going. Yeah, you’re not always happy with exactly how it went.” [went]. Some things were frustrating. “The first half obviously looked like we were going to come out on top, especially that opening drive in the third quarter. They made a great play. I thought we had a touchdown. I think it was number four (Frankie Luvu) tipped the ball and kept us within a field goal. They made some big plays. But it was just the perseverance of the defense, just putting them back out there on those three drives in a row. Losing a couple key guys, Jalen Graham, they had to go in there losing. [Luke] Gifford played a lot of point guard. Defeated [Upton] Stout there where we had Ashtyn Davis come in and play some pivotal roles in the fourth quarter. “The offense had started the second half on a high note, running 11 plays for 65 yards in a six-minute drive and nearly scoring a touchdown before settling for a field goal to extend the lead to 23-3. “I thought we had an incredible offense to start,” Shanahan said of the team’s second-half offense. “I thought we were going to score. I think Brock broke that ball, he just got a tip. Then the next three trips were just frustrating. They sacked us in the first on first and 10, and put us in on second and 20. I couldn’t make it past second and 20. The next time we got to second and four. I probably should have called a run, but I was anticipating a blitz and we got it and our hot route just got stuck. We couldn’t get rid of it, so we grabbed another bag. Then the third period was only four minutes. We were trying to eat up their wait times. So it’s frustrating that we weren’t able to get a first down after that opening drive.” How big was the loss of Mike Evans with the offense struggling in the second half? “It’s definitely a big deal when you lose a guy like Mike, but our first drive [in the second half] I thought it was one of our best drives of the game,” Shanahan added. “We ran the ball really well, just got a tipped ball on third down that would have been a score and got a field goal. On the next two drives we actually got a sack on the first down, which led to second and 20. We three-and-out both times and then the fourth time was a four-minute drill. We were trying to run out the time. “So, the way it ended up being, Mike wouldn’t have had a chance to have much of an effect there in the second half. Now, if we had gotten some first downs and stuff and made progress, then you would have felt the lack of presence from him. But we didn’t get enough first downs to really show where we would miss him.” After the game, Brock Purdy took responsibility for the sacks, although he acknowledged that he could have done so. “Obviously offensively and for me, in the second half, it’s tough to do what we did, three and out,” Purdy said. “I think there are some plays where I probably could have been better at getting the ball out and stuff instead of taking some sacks. But for our defense to do what they did, obviously I know it sounds corny, but I mean it’s true, it’s a team win. It takes a whole team for four quarters. And then for our defense to do what they did at the end, it was really impressive.” “I think we were ready for it with our plan,” the quarterback added. “In the first half, obviously I didn’t feel like they did it as much. In the second half, I just thought they did a good job of being a little disruptive and taking away checks, making me hold on to the ball. So it’s still up to me on certain plays to get the ball out. But overall, very good scheme. I respect them a lot.” As a result, the 49ers are 6-0 and will have a chance to clean things up with Mike Evans potentially out against the Falcons next weekend.
