San Francisco 49ers beat Washington Commanders 37-20, Purdy leads team to eight straight win

The San Francisco 49ers won their eighth straight game on Saturday by beating the Washington Commanders 37-20 behind two touchdown passes from quarterback Brock Purdy to tight end George Kittle.

Purdy has continued to impress since filling in for Jimmy Garoppolo early in Week 13. Considering he was drafted last in this year’s NFL draft, he looked much better than expected. The 49ers quarterback has thrown two touchdown passes in four straight games (11-4) and won all three starts, keeping San Francisco in the hunt for the second seed in the NFC.

“He’s just getting the ball to us,” Kittle said.

“He’s great with the football. He puts it on target. He allows guys to run with it. He’s super savvy in the backfield, makes guys miss. His confidence is through the roof right now and I don’t know why it wouldn’t be.”

NFL

2022-12-24 23:06

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In his first three starts, Purdy threw multiple touchdown passes in each game, joining Hall of Famer Kurt Warner as the only quarterbacks to do so since starts began being tracked in 1950.

“I don’t really think about getting more and more comfortable or anything like that,” he said.

“I still have that same fire and drive as before when I wasn’t playing. I want to go in and I want to prove to my teammates and earn the respect every play, every snap, every drive.”

Taylor Heinicke passed for two touchdowns for Washington (7-7-1). Despite that, he lost a fumble in the fourth quarter and threw an interception. Carson Wentz replaced him after his second interception.

As they battle Seattle and Detroit for the final playoff spot in the NFC, the Commanders have lost their last three games.

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49ers vs Commanders highlights

With a few more big plays from Purdy in the third quarter, the Niners blew the game wide open. Kittle scored the go-ahead touchdown from 34 yards out after taking the opening kickoff of the second half.

Later in the quarter, Kittle scored again on a 33-yard catch and run to extend the lead to 21-7. Last week, Kittle caught two touchdown passes, giving him a career-high eight touchdown catches.

As the game progressed, San Francisco capitalized on big plays, scoring their first touchdown when Ray-Ray McCloud carried the ball 71 yards for a touchdown.

San Francisco added another after Jimmie Ward got an interception deep in Washington territory and Nick Bosa set up a field goal by Robbie Gould with a strip-sack of Heinicke.

San Francisco 49ers – x

2022-12-24 23:28

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For Washington, Wentz’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel proved too little too late as he played for the first time since Week 6.

Late in the first half, the Commanders tied the game with a couple of tipped passes. First, Purdy attempted to complete a throw over the middle to Jauan Jennings. Darrick Forrest intercepted the ball after Jennings bobbled it.

Jahan Dotson bobbled a pass on Washington’s ensuing drive, but he caught it off a ricochet. After the break, Heinicke threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dotson to tie the game at 7-7.

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2022-12-24 22:14

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Neither team was able to convert a fourth down in the red zone in the first half.

Kyle Juszczyk threw a fourth-and-1 pitch to Christian McCaffrey, but David Mayo stopped him for no gain.

In the second quarter, Washington got down to the 1 when Fred Warner and Javon Kinlaw stuffed Antonio Gibson on fourth down.

During the third quarter, the Commanders were stopped once again on fourth and 1 from their own 34-yard line.