The 49ers Will Dictate Game Against Commanders

Commanders vs. 49ers, 4:05 ET

Teams go through a lot of ups and downs over the course of a season and these two teams are no different. The Commanders went from being one of the more embarrassing teams in all of football to a fringe playoff contender. The 49ers went from injury-plagued and middle of the pack, to injury-plagued and contenders.

The Commanders had some really good mojo going before the bye week. They were winners of three of four games and the other one was a tie. Then they came out of the bye and lost to the Giants in a home game. It really didn't make much sense but these divisional games rarely go by script. Taylor Heinicke has been acceptable for the Commanders, but he isn't that amazing and has numerous throws that he hasn't been able to make for his receivers. The running backs have been cycled through and they tend to go with the hot hand on offense. Their defense is pretty solid overall - and one benefit is they should be familiar with the way that Christian McCaffrey plays. He's become a big part of the 49ers offense.

San Francisco has one of the best defenses in all of football. I find it very hard to believe that a crappy Commanders offense will be able to march down the field often and score the ball on them. The 49ers give up just 74 rushing yards per game this year. So we are likely taking away a big part of the offense for Washington. I've already mentioned Heinicke is good but not great, so their passing game probably won't be able to make a huge impact. So what do the 49ers need to do? Keep up what they have been doing over the past five weeks. Only one of their past five games has been a one-score game. They've been crushing it no matter who their quarterback is. Brock Purdy looks good, but this will probably be the best defense he has had to face so far. It won't be a cakewalk.

There is no room for error with the under, but that's the only way I'd look in this game. The 49ers, in their last game, against the Seahawks, had a total of 34 points. I could see this being very similar, but I can't do it. I think the better bet is taking the 49ers -7. They are the better team, at home, and facing a team that is coming from across the country.

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