National Football League

Brock Purdy bounces back, 49ers beat Commanders and clinch NFC's No. 1 seed

Published Dec. 31, 2023 6:00 p.m. ET

Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers had an answer to quarterback Brock Purdy's four-interception performance in a loss last week to the Baltimore Ravens — his worst game as a pro.

Hand the football to Christian McCaffrey and Elijah Mitchell.

Those two 49ers running backs combined for 144 rushing yards and a score in a 27-10 victory over the Washington Commanders, as San Francisco rebounded to improve to 12-4 on the season. Mitchell totaled 80 rushing yards on 17 carries. The 49ers finished with 184 rushing yards on the day.

Mitchell was back on the field after missing three games with a lingering knee issue and got more reps because McCaffrey watched from the sidelines in the second half after a calf injury limited his availability.

Shanahan said McCaffrey suffered a possible calf strain and will be evaluated further on Monday.

The victory gave the 49ers a 12-win season for the 16th time in franchise history. But the Commanders did not go down easily, trailing just 13-10 at halftime before the 49ers scored 14 answered points in the second half to pull away for the win.

The Commanders lost their seventh straight game and dropped to 4-12 on the year.

Paired with the Philadelphia Eagles' surprising 35-31 loss at home to Arizona Cardinals, the 49ers earned the No. 1 seed with one game to play, which includes a first-round bye and home-field throughout the postseason.

Shanahan said he and his players watched the last seconds of Philadelphia's loss in the locker room, with a loud cheer erupting after seeing the result.

"I really didn't want to pay too much attention to it," Shanahan said. "Didn't want to get our hearts broken. But … they pulled it out. It was pretty cool to see."

Shanahan said the plan will be to rest some players in the final regular-season game at home against the Los Angeles Rams — but that doesn't mean the team will let up.

"I still think there's a lot of things we've got to continue to get better at, and the only way you do that is to keep practicing football and playing football," Shanahan said.

Linebacker Fred Warner said it's important to continue to play well heading into the postseason.

"It's not about completely removing ourselves and we're going to be resting everybody," Warner said. "Kyle is obviously in charge of that, and I don't know his plan for everything. But the message from him is we're going to continue to get better. We've got to make sure we're at our best when our best is needed for when our moment comes."

Purdy finished an efficient 22-of-28 (78.6%) for 230 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions for a 124.7 passer rating. In the process, he became the franchise single-season passing leader with 4,280 yards, surpassing Jeff Garcia's mark of 4,278 yards set in 2000.

Brock Purdy on setting 49ers' single-season passing record

The 49ers did a good job of protecting Purdy up front with the return of left tackle Trent Williams to the starting lineup after he left the game last week with a groin injury. Purdy was not sacked and faced just six pressures from Washington's defense.

On San Francisco's final touchdown drive, Purdy made two plays that showed his brimming confidence returned. Early in the fourth quarter on first-and-10 from San Francisco's 44-yard line, Purdy threw a pinpoint strike to Brandon Aiyuk on a go route for a 38-yard gain.

Four plays later, Purdy escaped the pocket to his right, pointed to Aiyuk to change his course and found him in the back of the end zone for a 17-yard reception for a score and the final points of the game. Aiyuk caught seven of his eight targets for 114 receiving yards.

"It's just staying present," Purdy said, when asked about his bounce-back performance. "Don't get caught up in what's going around, what people are saying and all that kind of stuff. There's so much more football to be played, and so for myself understanding that and trusting the process and the routine that I've done all season since I've been playing in the NFL.

"That's where my mind was at after the last game. There didn't need to be a drastic change in anything. I needed to be smarter with the ball and execute better."

While Purdy sizzled, the 49ers still showed they have plenty of work to do as they get ready for the playoffs.

The 49ers generated just one sack against Washington quarterback Sam Howell, with edge rusher Chase Young playing against his former team for the first time since the midseason trade. However, the 49ers managed to intercept Howell twice in the second half, including a career-high fifth pick by Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir's third of the year.

San Francisco also struggled in the red zone on offense, finishing 3-of-6 on the day and settling on Jake Moody field goals from 38 and 22 yards.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.