With 2:00 remaining Monday night, Malik Mustapha broke up Jayden Daniels’ pass intended for Treylon Burks on fourth-and-3 from San Francisco’s 17-yard line. The coverage play protected the 49ers’ six-point lead in what became a 23-17 win over Washington at Levi’s Stadium.
It also kept a messy finish from becoming a damaging one. San Francisco is 6-0, but the score concealed two separate chances to put Washington away. The 49ers led 20-3 at halftime, extended the margin to 23-3 in the third quarter and then allowed 14 unanswered points. Mustapha stopped the first threat. The offense and special teams helped create the second.
Washington’s initial late opportunity reached third down at San Francisco’s 17, where Jeremy McNichols was stopped for no gain. Mustapha then delivered on fourth down, breaking up Daniels’ throw to Burks. The defense had forced the issue, but the 49ers still needed their offense to make the final 1:54 matter.
That possession never reached a first down. San Francisco took over at its own 17, where Christian McCaffrey lost 1 yard. Brock Purdy followed with a 3-yard completion to McCaffrey, and McCaffrey ran left for 6 yards.
The sequence moved the ball to the 25, but Washington had spent its last two timeouts during the possession and still had a realistic chance to get the ball back.
A delay-of-game penalty at the 1:00 mark erased the initial punt formation. The eventual punt traveled 49 yards to Washington’s 31, and a fair-catch-interference penalty on San Francisco added 15 yards. Instead of starting at a distant end of the field, Washington began at its own 46 with 52 seconds remaining.
That was the second opening. Washington still had to exploit it, and the Commanders did. Rachaad White caught a pass for 9 yards to the San Francisco 45. Daniels stopped the clock with a spike at 38 seconds, then connected with Antonio Williams for 17 yards to the San Francisco 28. Another spike left 22 seconds.
The drive eventually broke down. An intentional-grounding penalty pushed Washington back, and with six seconds remaining Keion White and Romello Height split a sack of Daniels at the Washington 42. The 49ers escaped because the final possession ended, not because every part of the closeout sequence was under control.
That distinction matters because Washington’s comeback was more than a few harmless late points. The Commanders’ fourth-quarter push included a 30-yard Daniels completion to Burks and a 31-yard McNichols run that was nullified by a face-mask penalty. A short completion to White and a deeper throw to Antonio Williams advanced the final drive.
