With one week remaining in the regular season, Washington, Arizona and New England have identical 4-12 records. The Commanders own the tiebreaker for the second pick, which is strength of schedule, as determined by the aggregate winning percentage of each team’s opponents. The team whose opponents have a worse winning percentage is awarded the higher pick, and the Patriots (. 518) and Commanders (. 515) are neck and neck in that category.
The Cowboys can clinch the NFC East with a win over Washington in next week’s regular season finale at FedEx Field. It might seem like sacrilege to root for anything but a Cowboys loss, but it’s important for Commanders fans to keep their eyes on the prize. A win could cost Washington prime draft position, so it says here you’re better off rooting for a Dallas win, which would extend the NFC East’s streak of not having a repeat division champion since 2004. Then root your face off for the Cowboys to lose in the playoffs in front of their home fans in a couple of weeks.
Hail: First-half game plan
Eric Bieniemy called three consecutive pass plays on Washington’s opening possession, which resulted in a three-and-out, but the Commanders’ offensive coordinator found his groove on his team’s next drive, and it carried into the second quarter. Washington marched 46 yards on nine plays to cut San Francisco’s lead to 10-3, with running back Brian Robinson Jr., who missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, providing a spark in the run game. Sam Howell led an 84-yard touchdown drive on Washington’s ensuing possession, which included a 42-yard strike to Terry McLaurin on third and two after a strong run by Robinson. Howell was 9 of 13 for 100 yards and a touchdown in the first half, and Robinson had six carries for 33 yards. McLaurin was more involved in the first two quarters than he’s been in weeks, with four catches for 61 yards.
Fail: Fourth-quarter Howell
Trailing 20-10, the Commanders were deep in San Francisco territory early in the fourth quarter when Howell threw a pass behind McLaurin that 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward intercepted. After San Francisco marched 95 yards for a touchdown that effectively put the game out of reach, Howell threw his second pick on the second play of Washington’s next possession. The turnovers marred what had been a solid game from Howell against one of the league’s better defenses. Howell has now thrown at least one interception in six consecutive games. The second-year pro has three touchdown passes and 10 picks during that span.
Sunday’s final score would’ve been a lot uglier if not for Washington’s bend-but-don’t-break defense. The 49ers penetrated the red zone on three of their four first-half possessions but scored only one touchdown on those drives. Late in the second quarter, Daron Payne dragged Christian McCaffrey down for a loss of three yards on first and goal from the Washington 1. After the Commanders forced Brock Purdy to throw consecutive incompletions on the next two plays, the 49ers settled for a 22-yard field goal by Jake Moody. The outcome of the game was no longer in serious doubt, but Washington made another impressive goal-line stand in the fourth quarter, when Jonathan Allen and David Mayo stuffed running back Elijah Mitchell on consecutive carries to force a turnover on downs.
Fail: The franchise great that got away
All-pro left tackle Trent Williams returned to FedEx Field for the first time since Washington traded him to the 49ers in 2020 and led his teammates out of the tunnel before the game. “When they dealt me away for nothing, I still had a lot left in the tank,” Williams said after the 49ers clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. With former Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan at the helm and Williams leading the way, San Francisco has four playoff wins in the past two seasons, which is three more than the Commanders have since 2000.
Benjamin St-Juste and Kendall Fuller were inactive for Washington, leaving Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and Tariq Castro-Fields as the Commanders’ starting cornerbacks. Castro-Fields injured his shoulder and left the game in the first half, forcing Washington to call upon Holmes, a second-year player who had appeared exclusively on special teams this year. Holmes made an immediate impact, breaking up a pass intended for Ronnie Bell to force the 49ers’ first punt of the game. Holmes’s day was cut short when he was carted to the locker room and ruled out for the remainder of the game with a concussion after collapsing in the end zone in a scary moment early in the fourth quarter.
Washington failed to register a sack for the fourth time in its past five games. Chase Young didn’t have a sack for the 49ers in his return to FedEx Field, and Montez Sweat had a quiet day in the Bears’ 37-17 win over the Falcons, but Washington’s pass rush has been nonexistent since the team traded those two former first-round picks at the deadline.
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