National Football League
San Francisco 27, Washington 10
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 31, 2023
Where: FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Temperature: 48°
Head Official: Ron Torbert
Attendance: 64424

Brock Purdy threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns as the San Francisco 49ers clinched the top seed in the NFC with a 27-10 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday in Landover, Md.

Elijah Mitchell carried 17 times for 80 yards and a touchdown as San Francisco (12-4) gained the top record in the conference after losses Saturday by the Detroit Lions and Sunday by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mitchell took over for Christian McCaffrey, who was sidelined with an ankle injury early in the third quarter after rushing 14 times for 64 yards.

Brandon Aiyuk had seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown and Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir added key interceptions in the fourth quarter for the 49ers, who outgained the Commanders 408-225.

Sam Howell completed 17 of 28 passes for 169 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for Washington (4-12), which dropped its seventh straight, its longest single-season losing streak since 1998.

Jacoby Brissett, who was named the Commanders' starting quarterback on Wednesday, was deactivated before the game with a hamstring injury, allowing Howell to remain the starter.

McCaffrey topped the 2,000 mark in yards from scrimmage this season, becoming the first 49ers player to achieve the feat since Frank Gore in 2006. McCaffrey also topped the 2,000 yards from scrimmage with Carolina in 2019.

Purdy completed 22 of 28 passes without an interception against a Washington secondary that was without starting cornerbacks Kendall Fuller (knee) and Benjamin St-Juste (concussion), who were deactivated before the game.

In the first quarter, San Francisco scored on its first two drives, including a Deebo Samuel TD catch, to take a 10-0 lead. But Washington responded in the second period with two straight scoring drives, featuring a touchdown by Terry McLaurin, to make it 10-10.

The 49ers took the lead for good as Jake Moody closed the first half with a 22-yard field goal.

Then after intermission, Mitchell capped a methodical 83-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to put San Francisco up 20-10.

The 49ers took a 27-10 lead with 9:20 left when Purdy scrambled away from pressure and threw a 17-yard touchdown strike to Aiyuk in the back of the end zone.

In the fourth quarter, Purdy surpassed Jeff Garcia as San Francisco's single-season leader in passing yardage. Garcia threw for 4,278 yards in 2000. Purdy now has 4,280 yards for the season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
San Francisco   Washington
Elijah Mitchell Player Brian Robinson
17 Attempts 9
80 Yards 44
4.7 Avg Yards 4.9
1 Touchdowns 0
15 Long 12
Receiving
San Francisco   Washington
Brandon Aiyuk Player Terry McLaurin
7 Receptions 4
114 Yards 61
16.3 Avg Yards 15.2
1 Touchdowns 1
38 Long 42
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
San Francisco 408 184 224 3 2 2 1.0 0
Washington 225 62 163 1 1 0 0.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Washington will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Commanders have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .182 after a loss.
  • San Francisco will play their next game at home against L.A. Rams. The 49ers have a W/L % of .818 after a win and .600 after a loss.