The 49ers pulled away in the second half for a comfortable win over the Commanders.
The San Francisco 49ers improved to 12-4 with a 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders, leaving them in control of the No. 1 seed with one game left in the season.
It was a tough start for the 49ers, who had just a three-point lead at halftime before ultimately pulling away in the second half for a comfortable victory.
Following the game, 49ers analyst Rohan Chakravarthi shared his instant reaction to the team’s 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders, pointing out the major takeaways for the team moving forward.
Offense
Offensively, it wasn’t necessarily a slow start for the 49ers, but they struggled to convert in the red zone, scoring a touchdown on only one of their three first half opportunities, leading to 13 points at the break.
After 10 points over the first two drives, it seemed like the 49ers just weren’t as aggressive as they usually are, which was my top takeaway entering the game.
But, in the second half, the 49ers opened with a 12-play, 83-yard touchdown drive, which was followed with a 10-play, 95-yard touchdown drive to extend their lead to 27-10.
That ended up being the final score in the victory, leaving the 49ers with their 12th victory.
Now, the focus turns to Christian McCaffrey, who was seen several times taping up his calf injury on the sideline. He didn’t play for a majority of the second half, leaving Elijah Mitchell to have a heavy day on the ground.
Defense
The 49ers defense started off the game with a three-and-out, but struggled after that in the first half, allowing two scores to lower the halftime lead to 13-10.
After an early three-and-out, things weren’t looking great for the 49ers defense, but Charvarius Ward intercepted a pass in the red zone, which was the turning point of the game.
Deommodore Lenoir intercepted a pass on the following drive, sealing the game in San Francisco’s favor early in the fourth quarter, and the defense was able to overcome some struggles against a 4-11 Commanders team to ultimately allow just 10 points on the day.
Still, there are several things that need to be cleaned up ahead of San Francisco’s Week 18 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.