Game Preview, Week 17: San Fransisco 49ers at Washington
December 30, 2023
by Steve Thomas
Washington appears to have all but quit on the season, on the dawn of the Jacoby Brissett Era, at least if last week’s game against the Jets is any guide. To make matters worse, the 49ers decisively lost to the Baltimore Ravens, so they’ll be in no mood to drop a second game in a row, particularly to a bottom of the barrel team like Washington, even on the road. Therefore, this game was always going to be a tough one, regardless of whether Washington decided to start Sam Howell or Jacoby Brissett. Many fans clearly want Washington to tank for draft positioning, and those fans might just get their wish this week unless the team make major improvements. That seems pretty unlikely here in week 17, but you never know. What’s a winning game plan for this game? We’ll discuss in our game preview, below.
Game time & location: Sunday, December 31, 2023, 1:00 p.m. ET, Fed Ex Field, Raljon, Maryland; Gates open 11:00 a.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 8:00 a.m.; all other parking lots 9:00 a.m.
Television: FOX
Television announcers: Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth, Kristina Pink
TV broadcast map: click here
DC-area radio: BIG-100 (WBIG FM)
Washington radio network: click here
49ers radio network: click here
Satellite radio: SiriusXM: 233 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: click here
Washington depth chart: click here
49ers roster: click here
49ers depth chart: click here
Records: Washington 4 – 11 (home 1 – 5); 49ers 11 – 4 (away 6 – 2)
All-time head-to-head record vs 49ers: 11 – 19 – 1 (last 10: 4 – 6; streak: 0 – 1)
Last meeting: L, December 24, 2022, 20 – 37
Early odds: 49ers, -13.5
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Be prepared and ready to play
It’s a shame that this point even needs to be said of an NFL team in week 17, but any small chance Washington has to win this game immediately evaporates into the ether if the team isn’t ready. This means that the players need to be focused and play mistake-free football, and the coaches need to have a realistic gameplan. The 2023 version of the Washington football team hasn’t been able to play a complete game all year, for the most part, so there’s little reason to expect them to start now. Perhaps the presence of Brissett will create a new, better attitude. The point is, the only path to victory this week is down the road of mistake-free football.
Jacoby Brissett and the short passing game
Brissett gets his first start in Washington this week, maybe, assuming his hamstring is healthy. He’s done very well in relief over the past two weeks, but it isn’t reasonable to expect him to keep up a 5 touchdowns in 7 drives pace. San Francisco’s defense will likely put him under significant pressure, so Brissett will need to rely on quick, short, underneath passes. He’s good at that, better than Howell, so it’s possible. Offensive coordinator needs to help him out by not calling route packages of all slow developing, vertical patterns. Brissett and Washington need to think short and quick in this game.
Be willing to give up underneath and short gains in order to guard against big plays
Defensively, Washington is facing one of the best offenses in the NFL, at a time when they are performing as one of the league’s worst units. The focus this week needs to be on stopping the big plays. The secondary needs to play deep zones, and the linebackers – in particular, Khaleke Hudson – should focus on controlling Christian McCaffrey. There’s no way that Washington is going to be able to completely clamp down on an offense like this, but they could possibly have a chance if they focus on limiting the 49ers to long, slow drives.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Emmanuel Forbes vs. Brandon Aiyuk
Ayiuk passed the 1,000 receiving yards mark in week 14 and has averaged 18.5 yards per reception so far this season, which is the top mark in the NFL. Washington, on the other hand, boasts one of the most unsuccessful secondaries in the league. Washington hopefully isn’t stupid enough to leave Forbes, the rookie first round draft picks, on Aiyuk one on one, but nevertheless, Forbes will probably be the principal corner to guard him. This matchup probably belongs in the “things sure to go horribly wrong” category, as Aiyuk is one of the best in the league, and Forbes has been mostly unsuccessful this season. Washington needs to play zone and shade coverage over to Aiyuk when possible, which might not be often considering San Francisco’s other offensive weapons. Get ready for Aiyuk to light Forbes up.
Casey Toohill vs. Trent Williams
It isn’t so much that Toohill vs Williams is all that interesting, since former Redskin Williams is a probably future Hall of Famer and Toohill is an average pass rusher trying to establish a career. But this will be the first time Williams has returned to Fed Ex Field since he was traded away for a bag of Doritos by Ron Rivera. It will be very interesting to see how both of the Washington fans in attendance in the stadium react to Williams. I also expect this to be a big storyline of the broadcast crew if the game gets out of hand.
This is yet another matchup in the “things sure to go horribly wrong” category. Bosa is a three-time Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro in 2022, whereas Lucas, as the replacement for the injured Charles Leno, is for the most part an average-at-best starting left tackle. Bosa will almost certainly have ample opportunity to terrorize Washington’s quarterback, particularly if Lucas is left to face Bosa one on one. Keep an eye out on whether Lucas can actually keep Bosa more or less in check, or whether Bosa spends most of the afternoon in Washington’s backfield. I recommend prayer.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful NL – not listed
| Washington | 49ers |
| S P. Butler, wrist; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | DT A. Armstead, foot/knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP ; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| CB K. Fuller, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | G A. Banks, toe; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: Q |
| C T. Larsen, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | S J. Brown, knee; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| T C Leno Jr., calf; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | TE R. Dwelley, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| DE J. Smith-Williams, illness; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: FP | WR J. Jennings, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| CB B. St-Juste, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O | RB J. Mason, illness; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: Q |
| DT J. Ridgeway, foot; Wed: DNP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | RB C. McCaffrey, NIR – Vet Rest; Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: NL |
| RB B. Robinson Jr., hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | T J. Moore, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| T A. Wylie, elbow; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | LB O. Burks, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP: Fri: FP |
| LB D. Harris, quad; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | DT J. Hargrave, hamstring; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| LB D. Mayo, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | WR D. Samuel, neck; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| RB C. Rodriguez, ankle; Wed: DNP; Thurs: to IR | CB A. Thomas, knee/hand; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q |
| QB J. Brissett, hamstring; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: LP; game: Q | T T. Williams, groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| WR D. Gray, shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: Q | |
| RB E. Mitchell, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP | |
| QB B. Purdy, left shoulder; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri; FP | |
| LB D. Flannigan-Fowles, illness; Wed: NL; Thurs; NL; Fri: DNP; game: Q | |
| LB D. Greenlaw, shoulder; Wed: NL; Thurs: NL; Fri: FP |
Steve’s Prediction
Jacoby Brissett will play well, but San Fransisco is way too good. 49ers win, 36 – 17.