Today, the San Francisco 49ers (6-4) will host the Washington Redskins (3-7) at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
The 49ers are coming off of a 16-10 victory over the New York Giants. The Redskins are coming off of a 27-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks coming up on Thanksgiving, the 49ers are trying not to look past Washington. Each win strengthens their chances of making their fourth straight playoff appearance.
During the past two weeks, quarterback Colin Kaepernick has completed just 47.5% of his passes. However, he has only thrown two interceptions in his last eight games.
While the 49ers offense continues to struggle, the defense has stepped up, forcing three turnovers two weeks ago against the New Orleans Saints and then following that up with a five interception day on Eli Manning and the Giants. Both were road victories.
Last week, Robert Griffin III threw two first-quarter interceptions and was sacked six times against the Buccaneers.
Linebacker Aldon Smith returned from a nine-game suspension for the 49ers last week. Linebacker Chris Borland has impressed while playing for the injured Patrick Willis, who will be out for the remainder of the season. Borland has 48 tackles, and two interceptions since the bye week. He was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Giants, where he had 13 tackles, three passes defended and two picks.
The 49ers had hoped to have nose tackle Glenn Dorsey return against Washington, but he has already been ruled out. Linebacker NaVorro Bowman returned to practice this week, but the team is taking his comeback slowly and are being cautious with the All-Pro. The 49ers remain unsure if he will return this season.
Linebacker Ahmad Brooks added a little controversy last week after being benched against the Giants for an argument that ensued between himself and one of his coaches regarding his playing time. He has since cleared things up with the coaching staff and will play today.
The 49ers are tied with the Seahawks for second place in the NFC West. Each team is three games behind the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals and the Seahawks will face each other today as well.
As usual, you can visit 49erswebzone.com for the latest news and updates during and after the game.
Quick Hits:
With a win, the 49ers would improve to 20-10-1 all-time against the Redskins and 12-3-1 at home.
This would be the 49ers' fourth straight win over the Redskins.
The 49ers can wrap up their match-ups against NFC East opponents with a perfect 4-0 record.
The 49ers defense has 16 interceptions his season, the most in the NFL.
Offensive Rankings:
The 49ers rank 18th with 342.8 yards per game. The Redskins rank 8th with 380.4 yards per game.
Defensive Rankings:
The 49ers rank 4th, allowing 308.8 yards per game. The Redskins rank 10th, allowing 332.9 yards per game.
Last Meeting:
The 49ers beat the Redskins 27-6 in 2013 at FedExField in Washington, D.C.
Kickoff:
The game kicks off at 1:25 PM PT.
Betting:
The 49ers are 8.5 point favorites.
Fan Picks:
At Yahoo! Sports, 88% of fans believe that the 49ers will win this game. Within our
Pick 'em contest, 99% of fans believe that the 49ers will win this game.
Follow the Game:
You can follow the game live on
NFL.com's Game Center.
Social Media:
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Television:
The game will be televised on CBS. You can check to see if the game is being aired in your area at
506 Sports.
The San Francisco 49ers started their two-day mandatory minicamp, holding the first practice on Tuesday. Reporters were allowed to observe the session, and there were several noteworthy takeaways.
QB competition? Not yet
Trey Lance and Sam Darnold are rotating first-team reps during practices. Tuesday was Darnold's turn. Wednesday will be Lance's opportunity.
First practice of minicamp is in the books. In 11-11s, I had …First-team QB Sam Darnold 4-7Second-team QB Trey Lance 6-9Third-team QB Brandon Allen 4-4— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows)
The 49ers ended their offseason workout program on Wednesday with their final session of mandatory minicamp. But before they made their way out the door for the summer, the team gave fans and reporters one last dose of info in the form of the final media sessions of the spring.
Among those speaking to reporters on Wednesday were defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, left tackle Trent Williams and cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, as well as defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Each session produced some interesting tidbits, which we'll review in this version of 49ers notebook.
Hargrave speaks
Despite being the splash free agent addition of the offseason for the 49ers, Javon Hargrave had not met with the team's beat reporters in person before Wednesday.
As the sun rose over the horizon, fans of the San Francisco 49ers came from all over, with great anticipation, as General Manager, John Lynch, slowly trudged his way upon the hill, disappearing into the fog for just a moment, and reappearing with Kyle Shanahan, to proclaim Brock Purdy the heir to the 49ers' QB throne. (Cue the "Circle of Life" track!)
Alright, so it wasn't exactly like that. But the 49ers' brass has made it a point this offseason to ensure everyone knows Purdy is the team's starting quarterback, once he's healthy. And while it may have lacked the drama of a scene from The Lion King, the declaration was just as impactful. (You know, if we could have had Lynch look out over the kingdom, and then hold young Purdy up in front of the team's cheering
You've heard stories about San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan installing a play and breaking down exactly how he expects the defense to react. Then, when the players execute the play, everything occurs as the coach explained, as if he had a crystal ball to predict the outcome.
Shanahan is a confident play-caller, emphasizing execution by his players to ensure everything goes as planned. The 49ers acquired a big-time playmaker last season, trading for star running back Christian McCaffrey, who had already established himself as one of the most versatile players in the league.
Even McCaffrey marvels at the things his play-caller comes up
