49ers beat Commanders, clinch NFC's top playoff seed

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