GAME REVIEW

OFFENSE

That was a big-play attack: 217 of their 371 yards (and 21 of their 37 points) came on five plays. Ray-Ray McCloud’s 71-yard TD run was the highlight of a sleepy first half before the floodgates opened with two George Kittle TD catches (34, 33 yards) and a 54-yard Brandon Aiyuk grab in the third quarter. QB Brock Purdy had a 114.6 passer rating, the Niners rushed for 153 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry and scored 30 points in the final 26 minutes.

DEFENSE

How good are these guys? Washington’s modest point total (20) and rushing output (79 yards) marked the most against the 49ers since Oct. 23. They limited the NFL’s 11th-ranked rushing offense to 2.4 yards on 33 carries and had two fourth-quarter takeaways that helped seal the game, leading to two field goals. DE Nick Bosa (two sacks) continued his season-long Reggie White impression and LB Fred Warner (13 tackles) was the best defender in a supporting role.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Commanders insisted on returning kickoffs from their end zone, and the 49ers kept making those look like very bad decisions: Washington averaged just 15.5 yards on its six runbacks, with safety George Odum (four special-teams tackles) making most of the stops. Robbie Gould went 4-for-4 on extra points and was also flawless on his field goals (from 26, 23 and 35 yards).

COACHING

The 33-yard catch-and-run TD to Kittle was set up brilliantly: The 49ers had used the same formation and tossed the ball to Christian McCaffrey on multiple plays earlier to set the trap. Less good? On their first drive, they tried to draw an offsides penalty on 4th-and-1 from the Commanders’ 15. It didn’t work, Kyle Shanahan burned a timeout, and then they tried a handoff-to-Kyle-Juszczyk -pitch-to-McCaffrey play that didn’t gain a yard. Not a great sequence.

OVERALL

They were a bit flat for the first two quarters and the Commanders appeared to be in position to pull an upset with a wear-’em-down attack that held the ball for more than 20 minutes. But the 49ers have Kittle. And Bosa. And McCaffrey. And plenty of other blue-chippers. Yeah, their eight-game winning streak is no fluke.