WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 49ers opened their season with five straight wins, then lost three in a row, won six straight and, most recently, ruined Christmas dinner by losing big on Monday night.
A streaky team? They need that trend to stop Sunday, when they take an NFC-leading record (11-4) into FedEx Field to face the last-place Washington Commanders (4-11).
Focusing on that game, rather than last game’s debacle or their playoff fate, is a theme that echoed through the 49ers’ locker room this past week.
“It just emphasizes the fact that we need to stay in the moment and not look at the No. 1 seed, or we have to win this many games to get this and that,” defensive end Nick Bosa said. “Things can go south really fast in the NFL.”
That’s why Chase Young, traded two months ago from Washington, said he and the 49ers must arrive with “tunnel vision.”
Brock Purdy agreed, after the unsightly scene of last game’s career-high four interceptions. “We’re trying to win this week, take it one day at a time, and we’ll get to where we need to be by being in the present,” Purdy said.
Five ways to indeed win as a double-digit favorite:
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback Brock Purdy (13) hugs San Francisco 49ers’ Jake Brendel (64) on the sidelines during their game against the Arizona Cardinals late in the fourth quarter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
1. OK ON O-LINE
Two of Washington’s best players are defensive tackles Daron Payne and Jonathan Allen, posing problems for the interior of the 49ers’ injury-battered offensive line. Left guard Aaron Banks (toe) is questionable, and left tackle Trent Williams is fully expected to return from a groin injury that sidelined him after Purdy’s fourth interception Monday.
Center Jake Brendel, along with guards Jon Feliciano and Spencer Burford, must prevent Payne and Allen from not only pressuring Purdy but redirecting the offense’s flow.
Whereas Payne brings power, strength and athleticism, Allen is more elusive and packs quite a move. “He has a really good ‘chop hump,’ which everyone knows,” Brendel said. “That’s his move. He’s perfected it. It’s a funny name, for sure.” In layman’s terms, Brendel described that move as: “You’re (overhead) chopping to an outside-of-the-body uppercut, to get the offensive lineman’s momentum moving in the direction that he wants him to.”
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, #13 Baltimore Ravens’ Odell Beckham Jr. #3 and others pray after the 49ers 33-19 NFL loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
2. PICK UP PURDY
Purdy heaped blame on himself for torpedoing the 49ers’ efforts Monday night, by virtue of his first-career four-interception game and an inability to rally them afterward. Such accountability was also seen by him after a three-turnover show in the 49ers’ previous loss, to the Bengals.
Teammates are not about to abandon him. Instead, they’ve talked about rallying around him.
“I’m not going to tell Brock how to play the position. I’m going to trust his instincts,” said tight end George Kittle, who’s nine yards shy of 1,000 this season. “He’ done a great job the last two seasons and he’s done a great job his whole career. However he wants to play the quarterback position, I’m OK with it.”
As unhappy as Purdy was with that loss, he acted this past week as the “same guy, which is what you want to see,” Brendel said. “He wasn’t happy with his performance, or just the offense of the performance. Whenever it’s a pick you automatically blame the quarterback, even though a lot of those weren’t 100 percent on him.”
The first interception, into the end zone after misdiagnosing the defensive coverage, was on Purdy. The next three came on a deflection, a ricochet, and an off-target throw as his bionic arm got hit. Simply put, turnovers must be avoided. The gift-giving season is done.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) is sacked by San Francisco 49ers’ DeForest Buckner (99) and Elvis Dumervil (58) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
3. AVOID QB UPRISING
Coach Ron Rivera, in his fourth and possibly final season as Washington’s coach, planned last week to bench quarterback Sam Howell for Jacoby Brissett, but the latter sustained a hamstring injury in Thursday’s practice to become questionable.
Brissett has lost 30-of-48 career starts in an eight-year, five-team career that began with him and Jimmy Garoppolo serving as Tom Brady’s understudies in New England. Brissett has never had a game with four interceptions, much less three. Howell has started every game this year but was pulled from each of the past two games, and no NFL quarterback more than him has been intercepted (17) or sacked (60).
Regardless of who quarterbacks, “they’re definitely a team that is going to fight to the end. I know that,” said Young, who got traded to the 49ers two months ago after 3 ½ seasons with Washington.
The 49ers’ defense did not force any Ravens’ turnovers on Monday night, and there’ve been no fumble recoveries by Steve Wilks’ unit the past five games. Left tackle Charles Leno is out and right tackle Andrew Wylie is questionable, so Young, Bosa, Javon Hargrave and the other defensive linemen could feast. But also they need an overdue boost from linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who hasn’t forced or recovered a fumble all season (nor did he in his first three seasons).
As for the secondary, safety Ji’Ayir Brown (knee) is out, so Logan Ryan figures to start next to Tashaun Gipson Sr.. That should only become evident if Terry McLaurin or Curtis Samuel have breached coverage, and that simply shouldn’t happen.
San Francisco 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey #23 and his fiancé Olivia Culpo greet fans up before their NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
4. RUN CMC IN DC
First, Washington actually plays its games in Landover, Maryland. Second, Christian McCaffrey’s initials are actually CJM (Jackson is his middle name). He can essentially lock up the 49ers’ first NFL rushing title since Joe Perry in 1954. McCaffrey’s 1,395 yards give him a 338-yard cushion over his closest challenger, the Rams’ Kyren Williams, who’ll oppose the 49ers in Week 18.
Fans were outraged last game because the 49ers’ opening drive last game did not feature a McCaffrey run and ended with an end zone interception. He still finished with his seventh 100-yard game this season, and he played all 70 snaps, which earned him Thursday’s higher-tempo practice off to rest.
A run-heavy attack could also help Purdy’s overall confidence and get him back into the groove for his second playoff run. That said, the Commanders will be without cornerbacks Kendall Fuller, Tyler Larsen and Benjamin St-Juste, so Purdy could enjoy target practice with passes to McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, Kittle and more. Washington is allowing the NFL’s most yards (384.3) and points (30.2) per game.
San Francisco 49ers’ Jake Moody #4 watches the flight of his 45-yard field goal in the first quarter of their NFL game against the Baltimore Ravens at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
5. MOODY’S KICKING
Best-case scenario, this will be Jake Moody’s final game kicking in enemy territory. (Sidebar: the Super Bowl is in the neutral, indoor confines of Las Vegas). The last time the 49ers played in FedEx Field, rain and silt made for terrible conditions, but Robbie Gould made three field goals for a 9-0 win in the so-called 2019 Mud Bowl.
“I’ve heard about this field, but the weather looks nice and hopefully that holds up,” Moody said. Sunday’s forecast calls for dry, partly sunny conditions in the 40s.
Moody has flown under the radar his rookie season, aside from missing the potential game-winner in Cleveland for the 49ers’ first loss. This game should not come down to Moody’s foot. But late-season surprises happen, and if he’s summoned, he’s still relatively untested.
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His 22 field-goal attempts (19 made) are tied for the fewest by a kicker who’s played in every game this season; Washington’s Joey Slye (a 49ers’ 2021 fill-in for Robbie Gould) is 17-of-22. Moody has made all 55 point-after kicks (Slye is 30-of-33).
Moody noted that Levi’s Stadium’s conditions have been great, despite swirling winds through the stadiums west-side openings. As for kicking on the road, “nothing’s been too bad,” Moody said. “Pittsburgh was in Week 1, thankfully, so the conditions were pretty good.”
