NFL: Purdy and the 49ers build a big lead and hold on to beat the Commanders

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) scrambles during the second quarter. Pic: Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty 

Brock Purdy and the offense staked San Francisco to a big lead. The defense made sure the 49ers remained undefeated.

Purdy threw a touchdown pass, Christian McCaffrey ran for two scores and the 49ers made two late stops to hold off the Washington Commanders 23-17 on Monday night for their sixth straight win to open the season.

“You’re not always happy exactly with how some of the stuff was frustrating, but real proud of the guys for just the competitive stamina to keep it going all game,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I was really proud of the defense for finding a way to overcome.” 

The Niners followed up an emotional win last week at division-rival Seattle by building a 20-point lead and then escaping at the end when the defense stepped up.

Jayden Daniels threw two touchdown passes in the second half to cut a 20-point deficit to 23-17, but Malik Mustapha broke up a fourth-down pass to Treylon Burks near the goal line with 1:54 to play to preserve the lead.

“I’m just reading the stem of the receiver, and then he broke out, and I was just trying to race to the pylon,” Mustapha said. “Once we got to the catch point, I just wanted to be physical at the point of attack and get that ball out.” Washington got the ball back at its 46 with 52 seconds remaining and moved down to the 28 before Daniels was called for intentional grounding, giving the Commanders one last play from the 40. Daniels was then sacked by Keion White and Ogbo Okoronkwo before he could throw up a desperation pass.

The Niners extended their best start of a season since winning their first eight games in 2019 on the way to a Super Bowl appearance.