Seattle did a lot of things right against San Francisco last weekend and still walked away empty-handed. That’s the part Washington needs to study closely.
The Seahawks held the 49ers to 269 total yards, 14 first downs and 4-of-12 on third down. They also got to Brock Purdy three times after failing to record a sack through the first four games, with defensive tackle Byron Murphy II accounting for two sacks and seven pressures. On paper, that kind of defensive outing should be good enough to beat almost anybody in Week 5.
It wasn’t.
San Francisco turned Seattle’s mistakes into 21 points off takeaways, including a fumble near the goal line that became a 49ers defensive touchdown. In fact, only 11 of the 49ers’ 32 points came on drives that did not begin after a Seattle turnover.
The game still had a back-and-forth feel late. Seattle led 26-21 going into the fourth quarter before San Francisco answered with a 12-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, then followed it up with the two-point conversion. Seattle tied it again, but the 49ers finished the job with a 43-yard drive that ended in the winning field goal.
That’s the tension for Washington. The Commanders have already lived through a similar formula from the opposite side. In Week 3, Seattle outgained Washington 437-258, but three Seahawks turnovers turned into three Commanders touchdowns in a 33-31 win.
Ball security is going to matter again Monday. Washington has turned it over only twice in five games, and if that continues, its defense at least has a chance to make plays that count. But the bigger issue is whether the Commanders can actually force San Francisco off the field.
The 49ers are converting 51.9% of their third downs, the best rate in the league. Washington, meanwhile, has allowed opponents to convert 43.3% of theirs.
Seattle was able to keep Purdy and the 49ers from stringing together long, comfortable drives for most of the day. If Washington can’t do the same, the pressure and early stops won’t mean much.
The late stages may be the toughest part for Washington to solve. The Commanders have given up 95 points after halftime, the most in the NFL.
San Francisco is averaging 17.8 points in the second half, which ranks second. Washington also just watched a 14-point fourth-quarter lead against the Giants disappear into a tie, and Purdy showed against Seattle that he doesn’t need a perfect game if the defense can’t deliver one more stop.
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Still, Blough made clear there was plenty to clean up, and the focus landed quickly on the pre-snap mistakes that stalled what should have been a promising second-quarter scoring chance. For a team trying to build on a fast start, those kinds of penalties can turn a good possession into a wasted one, and the Commanders now have a familiar discipline issue sitting right in the middle of an offense that otherwise looked ready to hit another gear. [Read more 🡒]