Commanders strong finish falls short lose to 49ers 23 - 17 on MNF
The Commanders looked like two different
football teams on Monday night vs the
undefeated San Francisco 49ers.
The 49ers completely dominated
Washington in the first half accumulating
over 300 yards total offense and building a
20 - 3 halftime lead.
The Commanders red zone ( inside their 20
yd line) defense again failed allowing the
49ers to score touchdowns on three
consecutive drives in the red zone.
The Commanders Defense surrendered 12
consecutive touchdowns in the Red zone.
That horrific streak ended in the start of
the 3rd Quarter when they held the 49ers to
a field goal and trailed 23 – 3.
The game turned at that point.Commanders QB Jayden Daniels found his
groove after being harassed by the Niners D line the entire first half . He led his team
on an 11 Play 65 Yard Drive throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Stefon
Diggs to cut the deficit to 23 – 10.
The Commanders defense forced the Niners to punt and Daniels returned to the
field with fire in his eyes. He led the Commanders downfield on a 10 Play 80
yard throw, his 2nd touchdown pass of the game to RB Rachaad White and the
Commanders trailed 23-17 with plenty of time remaining in the game.
In the first half, the Commanders were
trailing 13 -3 and had a 4th and 2 at the
49ers 12 yard line.
The coaching staff elected to “go for it”instead of kicking a
field goal. They were unsuccessful and the
team came away without any points on the
drive.The strategy proved to be a poor decision
and again, as in 2 previous games, may
have cost them a victory .
Late in the 4th
Quarter, trailing 23 to 17,
the Commanders had two opportunities to
score the go-ahead touchdown.
On their first opportunity, a 31 yard
touchdown run by RB Jeremy McNichols
was called back due to a penalty.
On 4th down , trailing by 6, the
Commanders chose to “go for it”instead of
attempting a long FG.
If they would have kicked the short field
goal in the first half they would have
trailed by just 3 points and could have tied
the game with a field goal rather than
needing a touchdown trailing by 6 points.
The team gave a gallant effort after
halftime against one of the top teams in the NFL -- but again, poor coaching decisions
may have cost them a victory .
On their second possession of the game
knee and was carted off the field.
Commanders have a Bye this week and will
return to action on Sunday night, Nov. 1 at
8:15 pm EST vs the Philadelphia EaglesWeek 7 in the NFL
Last week was another crazy week in the NFL ‼️
Upsets by underdogs --several double digit comebacks -- 12 of the 14
games ended within 1 score with just 2 teams winning by double digits
(Panthers over Eagles 25-14 and the Chiefs over the Raiders 22-6).
The formula for success this season is explosive plays.
Top 5 Teams that lead the league in Runs over 10 yds and pass plays over
20 yds are
1 – Bills
2 – Chiefs
3 - Ravens
4 – Panthers
5 - 49ers
these 5 teams lead their division which shows the importance of explosive
plays on Offense ‼️
Most Explosive NFL Offenses in 2026 --
1. Buffalo Bills lead at 9.3 explosive plays per game
2. Kansas City Chiefs
3. Baltimore Ravens
4. Carolina Panthers
5. San Francisco 49ers
6. Detroit Lions
7. Chicago Bears
8, New England Patriots
9. Miami Dolphins
10. Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo's 9.3 per game comes from 56 total explosive plays — 31 runs of 10+ yards and 25 catches of 20+ yards, a
16% explosive rate that's well clear of the field.
Kansas City sits second at 7.8 per game (39 total: 23
runs, 16 passes), and Baltimore third at 7.7 (46 total: 29 runs, 17 passes). Carolina is the surprise name in the top
group at 7.2 per game, built more on the pass (21 completions of 20+ versus 15 runs of 10+) — consistent with
reporting that Bryce Young's offense is averaging a league-best 294 passing yards per game.
Top 5 defenses against big plays (fewest explosive plays allowed):
1. San Francisco 49ers - 2.6 (13 total: 4 runs, 9 passes)
2. Los Angeles Rams - 3.3 (13 total: 8 runs, 5 passes)
3. Seattle Seahawks - 4.0 (20 total: 12 runs, 8 passes)
4. Green Bay Packers - 4.4 (22 total: 14 runs, 8 passes)
5. Jacksonville Jaguars - 4.4 (22 total: 5 runs, 17
Bottom 5 defenses against big plays (most explosive plays allowed per game):
1. Las Vegas Raiders - 7.0 (35 total: 20 runs of 10+, 15 passes of 20+)
2. New Orleans Saints - 6.6 (33 total: 19 runs, 14 passes)
3. Denver Broncos - 6.6 (33 total: 20 runs, 13 passes)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers –6.4 {32 total: 13 runs, 19 passes)
5. Indianapolis Colts - 6.0 (30 total: 14 runs. 16 passes) Run vs. pass vulnerability differs sharply across teams.
The Raiders give up a ton of explosive run (20), which lines up with reporting that they have struggled in the
run game contextually. The Steelers and Giants, meanwhile, allow more explosive passes than runs-this
suggests coverage breakdowns rather than run-stopping issues. The 49ers are rare in being stingy in both
categories (4 explosive runs AND 9 explosive passes).
Offense / defense mismatch within teams.
Several teams are in opposite brackets for offense vs. defense on explosive plays:
---Buffalo: 1st in explosive plays generated (9.3/game), but their defense is middling on big plays allowed (~5.6 per
game range)
---Baltimore: 3rd in explosives produced (7.7/game), but 20th in defending them 5 per game
---Chicago: 7th in explosives generated (7.0/game), but 13th in allowing them (5.4/game)
Nick’s Nugget –
In the National Football League today, teams win with explosive plays on offense and preventing them on defense.
Time of possession has lost its value. With all of the penalties being called and risk of turnovers , it is difficult for
teams to sustain long drives that consume time. Explosive (Big chunk) plays lead to points and victories. Preventing
these Explosive ( Big Chunk) plays aids in victories.
Teams with offensive coordinators who understand this and have the athletes to execute big plays will find success in
todays NFL. This is supported by the team standings currently
