49ers report card after narrow escape against Commanders on MNF

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers escaped Monday Night Football with their perfect record still in tact.

They took extended their lead to 20 points on their first possession of the second half and held for a 23-17 win as the Commanders whittled the lead away with 14 unanswered points after halftime.

Grading the 49ers’ closer-than-expected win over Washington, which fell to 1-4-1:

Quarterback: A

Brock Purdy is officially the highest-rated passer in NFL history. 

He attained the record with his fifth pass of the night, a screen to Christian McCaffrey for his 1,500th career attempt, and on his next throw, Purdy put the ball where only George Kittle could get to it in the corner of the end zone. The 49ers’ opening touchdown only served to set the tone for the rest of Purdy’s night, as precise and on-point as any other this season.

Purdy completed 21 of 29 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown. And to boot, he outgained the Commanders’ dual-threat quarterback on the ground, too, with 28 yards on five scrambles.

Running backs: A-

Missing many of their top receivers, the 49ers put the ball in Christian McCaffrey’s hands.

He put it on the ground once but otherwise carried the load for the 49ers offensively in a way that he had yet to in five games this season. After leading the NFL with 413 touches last season, McCaffrey hadn’t gotten involved more than 19 times in a game this year.

McCaffrey was responsible for two of the 49ers’ three first-half touchdowns and had 82 yards on 16 touches before halftime, more than he had in three of their five previous contests.

San Francisco finished with 29 carries for 126 yards on the ground — 16 for 64 from McCaffrey — against a rush defense that had limited opponents to 3.9 yards per carry entering the game.

Although he acted as the 49ers’ offensive engine, McCaffrey gets a demerit for a rare fumble that cost the 49ers points. Linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson punched the ball out of McCaffrey’s arms on the edge of the red zone, leading to his first fumble of the season. 

McCaffrey has never lost more than one fumble in any of his nine previous seasons.

Wide receivers/tight ends: C+

Mike Evans aggravated a sore Achilles that caused him to miss practice this week and limped to the locker room shortly before halftime, calling into question the 49ers’ decision to play him in the first place. Then again, they desperately needed his 94 yards on three first-half catches.

The 49ers’ passing game mostly collapsed without Evans in the second half.

McCaffrey hauled in a season-high nine passes, but only for 53 yards. Kittle added five catches for 69 yards. But Purdy didn’t complete more than one pass to any other target.

Offensive line: B+

Trent Williams pancaked one defender and Dominic Puni plowed another to open a hole for McCaffrey to cross the goal line untouched for his first touchdown.

The 49ers’ line held up well, all things considered. The Commanders entered the game with the second-highest blitz rate in the league and didn’t hold back from sending extra rushers, but the 49ers mostly kept Purdy upright — at least as long had someone to throw to.

Defensive line: A+

San Francisco yielded two sacks, both in the second half after Evans left the game.

For the second straight game, the 49ers played without Nick Bosa and it was hardly noticeable.

Osa Odighizuwa, Mykel Williams and Gracen Halton all got home for sacks of Jayden Daniels, who lost more yards (21) on the 49ers’ three sacks than he gained on four rush attempts (10).

Romello Height forced an intentional grounding that resulted in a 10-second runoff, leaving the Commanders with one, final play from around midfield, and that one ended with Keion White on top of Daniels for their fourth sack of the evening.

Altogether, the Commanders mustered just 53 yards on 17 carries, an average of 3.1 per attempt, after entering with the NFL’s seventh-most efficient ground game (4.7 YPC).

Linebackers: B

When the 49ers needed a stop most, of course it was Fred Warner who stepped up.

With the Commanders driving down the field late in the fourth quarter, threatening to come all the way back from a 23-3 deficit, Warner wrapped up Rachaad White for an open-field tackle that should have gotten the 49ers off the field. Instead, a penalty on safety Malik Mustapha on the next play extended the Commanders’ drive.

Mustapha would earn the ultimate redemption a few plays later, providing the pass defense on Daniels’ fourth-down heave to Treylon Burks that gave the 49ers the ball back with 1:54 to go.

Defensive backs: C

The 49ers caught an unfortunate break early when Daniels’ top target, Terry McLaurin, had to be carted to the locker room with what appeared to be a serious knee injury.

Still, their defensive backs had a hard time keeping up with Washington’s receivers. Stefon Diggs was a frequent problem, and Upton Stout let him get free to convert a fourth-and-5 on Washington’s second drive of the second half, which ended in a touchdown.

A defense that has allowed the fewest explosive plays in the NFL was torched for gains of 27, 29 and 30 yards after coverages broke down. Daniels didn’t beat them with his feet, but he proved to be the toughest test yet for the 49ers’ secondary, which allowed him to complete 29 of40 passes for 300 yards, posting the highest passer rating of any quarterback to face the 49ers this season (110.7).

Special teams: D

The 49ers might have a kicking problem.

They definitely have an extra-point issue.

McCaffrey’s fumble inside the red zone left at least six points on the board, and the 49ers cost themselves another point when Eddy Pineiro’s point-after attempt sailed wide right.

The missed PAT was Pineiro’s third this season and his seventh in 58 attempts since the 49ers signed him in Week 2 of last season. He was good from 33 to improve to 34-of-38 in his San Francisco career when three points are on the line, opposed to one.

Pineiro’s job status should still be more secure than Jacob Cowing, who muffed a punt return for the second week in a row. Although the 49ers recovered this one, Cowing’s butterfingers backed them up on their 7-yard line, leading to the Commanders taking over on a short field.

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