SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy shook off a sluggish first half and did what he’s done since taking over as the San Francisco 49ers’ starting quarterback: He delivered big plays .
Purdy threw two more long touchdown passes to George Kittle and the 49ers beat the Washington Commanders 37-20 on Saturday for their eighth straight win.
“He just sends the ball to us,” Kittle said. He’s great with football. He puts it on target. It allows guys to run with it. He’s super savvy in the backfield, makes guys miss.
“His confidence is at an all-time high right now and I don’t know why it wouldn’t be.”
Purdy has maintained his impressive game since replacing the injured Jimmy Garoppolo at the start of Week 13, looking much better than expected for the player last chosen in this year’s NFL Draft.
He threw two TD passes in four straight games for the 49ers (11-4) and won all three of his starts as San Francisco keeps the pressure on Minnesota in the hunt for the No. 1. 2 seed in the NFC .
Purdy joined Hall of Famer Kurt Warner as the only quarterbacks since starts began being tracked in 1950 to earn his first three starts while throwing multiple touchdowns every game.
“I don’t really think about getting more and more comfortable or anything like that,” he said. “I still have the same fire and motivation that I had before when I wasn’t playing. I want to come in and I want to prove to my teammates and earn respect with every play, every snap, every drive.
Taylor Heinicke threw two TD passes for Washington (7-7-1) but also lost a fumble and threw an interception in the fourth trimester. He was replaced after his second gift by Carson Wentz and coach Ron Rivera said he hasn’t decided which quarterback will start next week.
The Commanders are winless in their last three games, but still hold a half-game lead over Seattle and Detroit in the race for the final NFC playoff spot.
“Nothing has changed, we’re still in the same situation we were in,” Rivers said. We control our own destiny. We win the next two, we give ourselves a chance, so it’s up to us.
The Niners opened the game in the third quarter thanks to more big plays from Purdy. They kicked off the second half and led to the go-ahead scoreline when Kittle opened up deep for a 34-yard score that he stole from the intended target, teammate Ray-Ray McCloud.
Kittle scored again later in the quarter a catch and run of 33 yards to make it 21-7. Kittle also had two touchdown catches last week, giving him a career-high eight this season.
“He makes my job easy,” Purdy said. He wins man-to-man matches with his speed and everything. You just give the ball to the guy, he’ll take off.
San Francisco capitalized on big plays throughout the game, also scoring its first touchdown on a 71-yard end by McCloud.
Nick Bosa and the Niners defense did the rest of the work with Bosa setting up a field goal by Robbie Gould with a strip bag from Heinicke and San Francisco adding another after Jimmie Ward got an interception deep in Washington territory.
Wentz, playing for the first time since Week 6, threw a 20-yard TD pass to Curtis Samuel, but it was too little too late for Washington.
TIP DRILL
The commanders took advantage of a few assists to level the game late in the first half.
The first came when Purdy appeared to complete a throw down the middle to Jauan Jennings. But Jennings popped the ball and tipped Darrick Forrest for an interception.
On the ensuing drive, Washington converted a third and a 5 on a pass that Jahan Dotson missed. before catching a ricochet.
Who created Heinicke’s 4-yard TD pass to Dotson it’s 7-7 at the break.
FOURTH STOPS
Both teams finished fourth in the red zone in the first half.
San Francisco led in 15th on their first drive before Christian McCaffrey was stopped by David Mayo with no gain on a fourth and a throw from fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Washington went down to 1 early in the second quarter when Antonio Gibson was stuffed to the fourth down by Fred Warner and Javon Kinlaw.
The Commanders again stopped in the third quarter on fourth-and-1 of their own 34.
INJURIES
Commanders: LB Jon Bostic (pectoral) left in the second half and did not return. … OF James Smith-Williams left in the fourth quarter to be assessed for a head injury.
49ers: CB Charvarius Ward went to the locker room nauseous in the second half, but returned to the game.
FOLLOWING
Commanders: Host Cleveland on 1 Jan 1.
49ers: Visit Las Vegas on January 1. 1.
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