Commanders vs 49ers is the last game of Week 6, played on Monday, October 19, in Santa Clara. The ball goes up at 8:15 p.m. Eastern (00:15 UTC, already Tuesday), with ESPN and ABC sharing the broadcast. San Francisco is still perfect after five games. Washington comes west at 1-3-1, its most recent outing a 27-27 draw with the Giants on October 11.
The records are far apart, but the details are more interesting than the standings. San Francisco has won close games as well as easy ones, and Washington has used three different passers in five weeks.
Commanders vs 49ers kickoff time on your clock
Monday night football keeps its usual slot. Fans on the Pacific coast get a late-afternoon start, while viewers in Britain are looking at a game that runs deep into the small hours. Our schedule converts every start to the time zone of the device you open it on; the table is a quick reference.
| Where | Kickoff |
|---|---|
| Eastern (EDT) | Monday 8:15 p.m. |
| Central (CDT) | Monday 7:15 p.m. |
| Pacific (PDT) | Monday 5:15 p.m. |
| UK (BST) | Tuesday 1:15 a.m. |
| UTC | Tuesday 00:15 |
ESPN lists the broadcast on ESPN and ABC as a national game, so there is no regional split to worry about.
How San Francisco got to 5-0
San Francisco's season began in Melbourne, where a Rams home game moved to Australia ended 27-7 for the 49ers. They then beat Miami 35-13 and Arizona 36-30 at home. Denver left Santa Clara with a 24-14 loss, and on October 11 they won 32-29 in Seattle. They have scored at least 24 points in every game, 154 in all, and given up 93. That is a margin of 61 points, or a little over 12 a game.
Brock Purdy has completed 98 of 142 passes (69.0 percent) for 1,196 yards, with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. His most accurate game was against Miami, when he went 20 for 22 for 287 yards; his biggest yardage day was 297 against Arizona. Christian McCaffrey leads the team on the ground with 286 yards and five touchdowns on 61 carries, and Mike Evans has 24 catches for 326 yards and three scores. On defense, Fred Warner has 50 tackles and Keion White has three sacks.
For this game, ESPN's injury list has Nick Bosa (calf) and safety Marques Sigle (ankle) as out, with Mykel Williams and Upton Stout questionable and Christian Kirk on injured reserve. Those designations can change before Monday, so check again on game day.
Washington's five weeks
Washington lost its first two games on the road, 24-22 at Philadelphia and 37-20 at Dallas. The only win so far came in Week 3, a 33-31 home result against Seattle. Week 4 took them to London, where Indianapolis won 30-13 at Tottenham's ground. Then came the Giants and a 27-27 tie that overtime could not settle.
The quarterback position explains a lot of that. Jayden Daniels started the opener and threw 34 passes. In Dallas he and Marcus Mariota split the work almost evenly. Mariota threw all 31 passes against Seattle, and Athan Kaliakmanis threw 33 of the 37 in London. Daniels was back for the Giants game and went 17 for 25 for 199 yards. Across the season he has 459 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt has carried the running game with 239 yards and two touchdowns on 67 carries. Terry McLaurin has the most receiving yards, 203 on 14 catches, while Stefon Diggs has caught the most passes: 18 for 170 yards. Washington has scored 115 points and allowed 149, and no opponent has scored fewer than 24 against them.
ESPN lists linebacker Javontae Jean-Baptiste and defensive end Charles Omenihu as out for Washington, with Stefon Diggs and safety Nick Cross questionable.
One opponent in common
Seattle is the one team both clubs have faced so far, and both games ended with three points or fewer between the teams. Washington beat the Seahawks 33-31 in Landover in Week 3. San Francisco won 32-29 in Seattle in Week 5. That is the closest thing to a shared measuring stick these two have this season.
| Team | Record | Points for | Points against | Average scored / allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | 5-0 | 154 | 93 | 30.8 / 18.6 |
| Commanders | 1-3-1 | 115 | 149 | 23.0 / 29.8 |
The last five meetings
These teams meet only now and then. Before Monday they had played five times since 2017, and San Francisco won three of them. The most recent was on December 31, 2023, more than two and a half years ago.
| Date | Where | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 2017 | Landover | Washington 26, San Francisco 24 |
| Oct 20, 2019 | Landover | San Francisco 9, Washington 0 |
| Dec 13, 2020 | Glendale, Ariz. | Washington 23, San Francisco 15 |
| Dec 24, 2022 | Santa Clara | San Francisco 37, Washington 20 |
| Dec 31, 2023 | Landover | San Francisco 27, Washington 10 |
The 2020 game was a 49ers home game played in Arizona, at State Farm Stadium. Add the five scores together and San Francisco leads 112-79. In two of them, 2017 and 2020, the gap at the end was eight points or less.
What comes after Monday
Washington is off in Week 7 and is next seen on Sunday, November 1, hosting Philadelphia on Sunday night. San Francisco gets less than six days before an afternoon kickoff in Atlanta on Sunday, October 25, and its bye comes the week after.
Find the game
Monday's listings sit on the Commanders at 49ers game page. The NFL tab carries Week 7, which starts Thursday, and the NHL and MLB tabs list tonight's hockey and baseball. The home page links every sport. Our Cowboys vs Packers piece looked ahead to Sunday night in Green Bay.
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