The Commanders travel across the country to face the undefeated Niners on Monday Night Football, a week after depriving themselves of a chance at a win against the Giants and settling for a tie.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
TV: ABC and ESPN
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Betting Lines
Lines from DraftKings, as of Friday.
Spread: Commanders +7.5
Money line: Commanders +330, 49ers -425
Over/under: 51.5 points
Pregame Reading
The Packers’ star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who played for Commanders coach Dan Quinn in Dallas when Quinn was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, blamed Sunday’s tie and overtime gaffe solely on quarterback Jayden Daniels. Parsons said his former coach will be out of a job because of Daniels.
The Commanders’ lack of clock management in overtime against the Giants cost them a victory. Columnist Thomas Boswell wrote about the mistakes made in the waning seconds.
How do players move on from such a disappointing result? The Commanders coped with a mix of family time, pumpkin patches and romantic comedies, Martenzie Johnson reports.
About the Niners
The vibes are good in the Bay Area. The Niners are 5-0 and looking to upgrade their roster ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline. General manager John Lynch, one of the more aggressive in-season executives, recently said star tight end George Kittle is lobbying him to trade for Chargers defensive end Khalil Mack.
The Niners are winning despite a banged-up wide receiver room. Deebo Samuel (hamstring), Demarcus Robinson (ankle sprain), and rookie De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle surgery) are all out for multiple weeks. But the team opened the practice window on Thursday for nine-year veteran Christian Kirk, who’s coming off a calf injury. Mike Evans, who’s battling a rib injury and Achilles soreness, is expected to play on Monday.
The game will also feature an on-field family reunion. Niners star running back Christian McCaffrey is the older brother of Commanders wideout Luke McCaffrey. Luke is the youngest of the four McCaffrey brothers, whose father, Ed, won three Super Bowls as a wide receiver. The two will play each other for the first time in the NFL.
“He’s the only brother I’ve never gotten to play with or against, so I think this completes the cycle of sharing the field with him,” Christian McCaffrey told The San Jose Mercury News.
One Big Question
Can the Commanders move on from last week?
The Commanders’ end-of-game ridiculousness dominated most of the NFL news cycle this week, and even though the game didn’t result in a loss, Quinn said it felt like one. It’s the kind of game that can hang over a team for weeks.
Can Quinn and Daniels find a way to move the Commanders forward? While 1-3-1 isn’t an ideal record five games in, 12 more remain — including a stretch of winnable matchups in the back half of their schedule.
Quote of the Week
“I let guys know it’ll never happen again, and we’re going to move forward,” Daniels said he told his teammates during a meeting on Monday.
Daniels took full responsibility for the tie, absolving Quinn and offensive coordinator David Blough for their roles in the overtime-clock mismanagement. Daniels looked great in his return from his second elbow dislocation in as many seasons, completing 68% of his passes for 199 yards and rushing for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
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