In a season of mostly low points and some early highs, Washington delivered a solid middling performance in a 27-10 loss to San Francisco on Sunday afternoon.
Defensively, the performance was good, especially in the red zone – but not good enough to beat a good 49ers team. Offensively, Washington moved the ball relatively well, but two interceptions negated Sam Howell's otherwise good start.
Sam Howell? Yes, even though Commanders head coach Ron Rivera publicly benched Howell on Wednesday, the second-year passer still had the starting spot after suffering a hamstring injury to veteran Jacoby Brissett late in the week.
Aside from the quarterback rollercoaster, Washington put in a tough performance in a contest that Las Vegas oddsmakers expected them to lose by two touchdowns. San Francisco is a much better team than Washington, and in the end that talent prevailed.
The Niners are seemingly stacked with stars all over the field, even though none of them have hit the mark. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco's star running back, appeared to be dominant early on but was held out of the end zone on several red zone attempts before leaving the game in the second half with leg problems. Deebo Samuel played well and scored a touchdown, but the stats don't stand out. Chase Young, the former No. 2 overall pick for Washington, came back to town in a Niners jersey and had a quiet performance.
It was a pretty sleepy afternoon in a stadium full of 49ers fans, and Washington fans seemed more prepared for the end of the season than another week of meaningless games.
There are no secrets about the commander's situation.
At 4-12, the meaningful portion of the 2023 season has been over for some time now, and it appears that big changes are coming after the Week 18 finale against Dallas.
The big questions — new coach, new general manager, new quarterback — won't be answered for another week, and some could take several weeks. This leaves Washington fans in a strange state of limbo.
The reality is: With a high draft pick in real range, there isn't much incentive to win games, but the players on the field still have no choice but to do their best.
Sunday's loss to the Niners was nothing more than another reminder that the end of the Rivera era in Washington is near.
San Francisco is built to win championships. Washington couldn't even keep it close.