49ers’ Mullens’ turnovers returned for touchdowns; Samuel, Warner leave injured
The 49ers lost Sunday for the fifth time in six games, the simplest signal that their reign as NFC champions is coming to an injury-riddled end without a playoff return.
Washington scored touchdowns directly off two
Nick Mullens turnovers and held on to down the 49ers
23-15 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where the 49ers relocated this month because of Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Three games remain for the last-place 49ers (5-8), starting next Sunday at Dallas before likely playing their final two games back in Arizona against the Cardinals on Dec. 26 and the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 3.
Nine NFC teams have a better record than last year’s conference champs. The Detroit Lions, with an interim coach, have better playoff positioning at No. 10 than the 49ers at No. 11 (by virtue of conference records).
The 49ers officially have been ousted from the NFC West race and are barely mathematically alive for the third wild-card berth.
“No matter what the circumstances are, we’re going to finish strong,” defensive end Kerry Hyder Jr. said.
The 49ers continued their
season-long theme and saw two of their top players exit early with injuries: wide receiver Deebo Samuel (hamstring) got hurt after a 9-yard run on the game’s first snap, and linebacker Fred Warner (neck/ shoulder nerve stinger) left two snaps after halftime.
Alex Smith got credited with his fourth straight win as Washington’s starter, but the former 49ers quarterback left just before halftime with a calf injury to his surgically repaired right leg. Washington (6-7) leads the NFC East.
Here are some of the highs, lows and everything else you need to know:
SCOOP-AND-SCORE
The 49ers lost their firsthalf lead in horrendous fashion, when a strip-sack of Mullens produced Chase Young’s 47-yard fumble recovery for Washington’s go-ahead touchdown 58 seconds before halftime.
As Trent Williams got flattened by Montez
Sweat and as center
Daniel Brunskill tried to block a blitzing Jon Bostick, Mullens tried to slide out of the pocket. Mullens held the ball low as Payne peeled off Mike Mcglinchey’s block, and Payne slapped it free to set up the scoop-and-score by Young, this year’s No. 2 overall draft pick.
“It’s impossible to win when the defense is scoring points for their offense. It’s disappointing,” Williams said. “We won’t beat anybody on our schedule giving the ball away like we did these last few games. All we can do is control these last three games, win each of them and see where that gets us.”
MORE MULLENS’ MISERY
Washington’s five-man rush came at Mullens when he threw toward the right sideline, toward where Kyle Juszczyk was before heading up field, toward Kamren Curl, who made the interception and returned it 76 yards for a 23-7 lead.
Mullens was allowed to stay in the game, but C.J. Beathard began warming up on the sideline, and it’s worth wondering which will get the start next Sunday at Dallas.
“It wasn’t all on Nick. We didn’t play good around him either,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “After the pick-6, I wanted to give C.J. a chance to warm up. He was warming up during the next drive, and during it, Nick made some big third downs and we went down there and scored. After he took us on a scoring drive, I changed my mind.”
On that interceptionfollowing drive, Mullens threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Juszczyk and a two-point conversion to Kendrick Bourne, cutting their deficit to 23-15. Mullens finished 24-of-45 for 256 yards and a 70.2 passer rating.
“The way our defense was playing against that offense, you have a very good chance to win as long as you just don’t turn the ball over,” Shanahan said. “For us turning the ball over three times and them getting 17 points off it, two (touchdowns) without our defense going on the field, it was a borderline backbreaker.”
ALEX SMITH WATCH
Smith, in the midst of one of sports’ greatest comebacks, had a lackluster game going (8-of-19, 57 yards, one interception) before his surgically repaired right leg acted upon on him.
In the second quarter, Smith had that leg wrapped and massaged because of what Fox reported as calf soreness. He headed to the locker room in the final minute of the first half, so
Dwayne Haskins had to take Washington’s final snap and kneel out the final seconds after a 49ers punt.
Smith’s final pass resulted in Jason Verrett’s second interception of the season; two snaps later came Mullens’ fumble that Young returned for a goahead touchdown.
COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
The 49ers fell to 0-7 when trailing at halftime this year and 22 of 26 such times since 2017 under Kyle Shanahan. They’ve failed to overcome at least a 7-point deficit in 27 of 32 games with Shanahan.
With 2:40 remaining, the 49ers started at their own 48-yard line for a last-ditch drive. With 1:38 remaining, it was over, when Kendrick Bourne’s 10-yard reception came up two yards short on fourth down. Two snaps earlier, Bourne had a 22yard reception to the 22yard line nullified by Mike Mcglinchey’s holding penalty (vs. Montez Sweat).
REPLAY REVERSAL
Jimmie Ward’s first interception since 2016 would have put the
49ers at the Washington 25 with 5 1/2 minutes to go. A replay ruling reversed that takeaway, however, and prompted a Washington punt on the next snap. Ward has two interceptions in 76 games.
“I wish Jimmie got that interception. It would have put us in a good situation to get points on the board,” Verrett said.
“Jimmie controlled it and didn’t use the ground to control it. At the end of the day, that should have been a turnover,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “When things don’t go you way, you can’t complain, you can’t make excuses, you’ve just got to keep playing hard. It’s just unfortunate because Jimmie’s having a heck of a season and that would have been a huge play.”
FOURTH-DOWN CALL
The 49ers’ punt coverage sure bailed out Shanahan’s call to punt on fourthand-1 from the 49ers’ 41 with 4:04 remaining. Long snapper Taybor Pepper downed the ball at the 1-yard line after two 49ers batted it back and kept it from crossing into the end zone.
On Washington’s ensuing series, linebacker Dre Greenlaw made a third-down tackle to prevent a first down by inches, forcing a punt with just under three minutes to go.
WILSON’S MIXED DAY
Jeff Wilson put the 49ers ahead 7-0 in his first touchdown since Oct.
25, when he scored three at New England before spraining an ankle. But Wilson also produced the game’s first turnover, when he fumbled 5:03 before halftime when hit in the backfield by Young. Washington’s Daron Payne recovered at the 26, and the 49ers’ pass defense held firm to force a field goal and maintain a lead, 7-6.
Wilson appeared to tweak his left ankle – the same when he hurt against the Patriots — when he got stepped on by Mullens in the backfield in the second quarter. Wilson finished with 31 yards (11 carries). Raheem Mostert had 65 yards (14 carries).
SPOON RESURFACES
Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, of all 49ers,
made a third-down stop on the defense’s first series. Witherspoon was a healthy scratch three straight games and played only two defensive snaps last Monday night against the Bills. K’waun Williams and Emmanuel Moseley remained out with injuries, so Witherspoon entered in the 49ers’ dime package with Dontae Johnson.