49ers Stay Golden
- Updated: December 26, 2022
The San Francisco 49ers won their eighth straight game as they defeated the Washington Commanders 37-20 in Week 16. The 49ers never trailed in this matchup, and their No. 1 defense got Taylor Heinicke benched for Carson Wentz in the fourth quarter after back-to-back Washington turnovers.
Brock Purdy completed 15-of-22 passes for 234 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in his third career start. George Kittle had another huge game with 120 receiving yards and two touchdowns on six catches. Christian McCaffrey was somewhat held in check with just 58 scrimmage yards and one touchdown.
As for the Commanders, Heinicke completed 13-of-18 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns and one interception before being benched. Wentz came in and completed 12-of-16 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown in the fourth quarter. Washington’s emerging big three of Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel caught a touchdown apiece.
The 11-4 Niners have already clinched the NFC West, but still have a No. 2 seed to play for. As for the 7-7-1 Commanders, they hold onto the No. 7 seed in the NFC, thanks to losses from the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions.
The 37 points the 49ers scored in Week 16 are tied for the second-most they have scored in a game this season. In the last four games Purdy has played in, San Francisco has scored at least 33 points in three of them. The 49ers’ No. 1-ranked defense is obviously the headline when it comes to this squad, but it seems to get lost on people that this offense can put up points. Even with McCaffrey not having his best outing, Kittle recorded his first 100-yard game of the season and caught two touchdowns for the second straight week, Brandon Aiyuk caught five passes for 81 yards and Ray-Ray McCloud had an impressive 71-yard rushing touchdown as well.
The 30 points San Francisco scored in the second half propelled the 49ers to victory. When both sides of the ball are gelling like they did in the final two quarters, the 49ers are hard to stop. They punted just once in the second half.
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