Key Points
- The San Francisco 49ers beat the Washington Commanders 23-17 late Monday at Levi’s Stadium and are the NFL’s only 6-0 team.
- Brock Purdy threw a touchdown pass to George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey ran for two scores as San Francisco led 20-3 at halftime.
- Jayden Daniels threw for 300 yards and two second-half touchdowns, but Malik Mustapha broke up a fourth-down pass near the goal line with 1:54 left.
- Washington fell to 1-4-1 and lost receiver Terry McLaurin to a left knee injury that coach Dan Quinn fears is significant.
- The 49ers visit Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 25, while the Commanders have a Week 7 bye before hosting Philadelphia on Nov. 1.
The San Francisco 49ers are still perfect, but it took a late goal-line stand to stay that way. San Francisco beat the Washington Commanders 23-17 on Monday Night Football late Monday in Santa Clara, Calif., after nearly letting a 20-point lead slip away.
The 49ers are the NFL’s only 6-0 team, with Kansas City and Minnesota at 5-0 in ESPN’s standings. Washington fell to 1-4-1.
What happened
San Francisco scored touchdowns on its first two drives in front of 71,561 fans. Purdy capped the opening march with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Kittle, and after a Washington field goal, McCaffrey scored on a 1-yard run set up by Mike Evans’ 54-yard catch. Eddy Pineiro missed the extra point, leaving it 13-3.
Washington’s best first-half chance ended on fourth-and-2 from the San Francisco 13, when Daniels threw the ball away. McCaffrey later lost a fumble near the Washington 20, but he scored again from 1 yard out with 13 seconds left in the half for a 20-3 lead.
The 49ers outgained Washington 303 yards to 90 in the first half, the Associated Press reported. Pineiro’s field goal made it 23-3 in the third quarter, and then the game turned.
Daniels hit Stefon Diggs for a 1-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the third quarter and found Rachaad White for a 9-yard score with 9:22 to play, cutting the lead to 23-17. On the next Washington drive, a 31-yard Jeremy McNichols touchdown run was wiped out by a Commanders face mask penalty. The drive stalled at the 17, and Mustapha broke up Daniels’ fourth-down throw to Treylon Burks near the goal line.
Washington got one last chance after a fair-catch interference penalty on San Francisco gave the Commanders the ball at their 46 with 52 seconds left. An intentional grounding penalty pushed Washington back to the San Francisco 40, and Keion White and Romello Height combined to sack Daniels on the final play, according to ESPN’s play-by-play.
Purdy completed 21 of 29 passes for 264 yards, and McCaffrey ran for 64 yards and caught nine passes for 53 more, according to the team’s official box score. Daniels completed 29 of 40 passes without an interception but was sacked four times.
Latest development
McLaurin was carted off in the first quarter with an air cast on his left knee, ESPN reported, and Quinn said the injury could be significant. “There’s fear,” he said of what further tests might show. McLaurin was scheduled for more testing Tuesday, and the team had not announced results as of Tuesday morning ET.
San Francisco has its own receiver concern. Evans, who did not practice last week because of a sore right Achilles, left late in the first half and did not return. Shanahan said he did not believe Evans would need more imaging. “I hope he recovers throughout the week, but you don’t think it’s a long-term thing,” Shanahan said, according to ESPN.
Purdy also became the highest-rated passer in NFL history after reaching the 1,500-attempt minimum to qualify, the AP reported. His 105.6 career rating tops Lamar Jackson’s 102.7.
Why it matters
This is San Francisco’s best start since the 2019 team won its first eight games on the way to the Super Bowl, according to the AP. Only the 1972 Miami Dolphins have finished a perfect season with a Super Bowl title, and that club still ranks among the greatest teams the league has produced.
The second half also exposed a thin spot. With Evans out, the 49ers managed only 72 yards after halftime, and their other wide receivers combined for two catches, ESPN reported. San Francisco also played without receivers Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel Sr. and Christian Kirk.
For Washington, the loss followed a 27-27 tie with the New York Giants in which the Commanders mismanaged the overtime clock and lost a chance at a winning field goal.
“We dug ourselves in a hole, and it bit us at the end of it,” Daniels said, according to the AP.
Quinn, in his third season, faces growing questions, though ESPN reported that multiple ownership sources have said his job is safe. “I’m sick about the ending, but we showed a lot of fight,” he said, according to the AP.
What happens next
The 49ers visit the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 1 p.m. ET on FOX, their last game before a Week 8 bye.
Washington is off in Week 7 and returns on Sunday, Nov. 1, to host the Philadelphia Eagles at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. McLaurin’s test results are the next key update.
New to byes and standings? Our guide to how the NFL works covers the basics.
Related live coverage
Find national news channels streaming on the LiveNewsWorld Watch Live hub. In baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays won the AL pennant on Monday night and will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series.
Sources
- 49ers.com: Official box score, Week 6 (Oct. 19, 2026)
- ESPN: Game summary and play-by-play, game 401873008 (Oct. 19, 2026)
- Associated Press via ESPN: 49ers hold on to beat the Commanders 23-17 (Oct. 19, 2026)
- ESPN: McLaurin and Evans injury reports (Oct. 20, 2026)
- ESPN: NFL standings and team schedules (Oct. 20, 2026)
