49ers hold off a Commanders comeback 23-17 to go 6-0 as Terry McLaurin and Mike Evans get hurt

The San Francisco 49ers are still perfect. It just got a lot harder than it looked at halftime.

The 49ers beat the Washington Commanders 23-17 on Monday night in Santa Clara to improve to 6-0. They led 20-3 at the break before Washington stormed back and came within inches of taking the lead.

A goal-line stand

Safety Malik Mustapha broke up a fourth-down pass at the goal line to stop the Commanders' best chance. Romello Height and Keion White then combined on a sack of Jayden Daniels on the final play to seal it.

Brock Purdy finished 21-of-29 for 264 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. Early in the game he reached 1,500 career passes, which made him the highest-rated passer among qualified quarterbacks in league history. Christian McCaffrey had his busiest night of the season with 25 touches for 117 yards and two touchdowns. George Kittle caught the game's first touchdown.

Daniels kept Washington alive in the second half. He completed 29 of 40 passes for 300 yards and threw both of his touchdowns after halftime. The Commanders defense gave up only 64 yards and three points in the second half after allowing 303 yards in the first.

Injuries pile up

The night came at a cost for both teams.

Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin was carted off in the first quarter with an air cast on his left knee after he tried to cut on a route. Coach Dan Quinn said the injury "could be significant" and that there is "fear" about what testing on Tuesday will show.

"He's a brother to me. It sucks," Daniels said. "Praying for Terry. He's been there for me through a lot since I came into this league."

For San Francisco, Mike Evans left late in the second quarter with soreness in his right Achilles. He did not practice all week but told coach Kyle Shanahan he was ready to play. Evans had three catches for 94 yards before he exited. Shanahan said he did not believe Evans would need more imaging and called it Achilles tendinitis.

Without Evans the 49ers had three straight three-and-outs in the fourth quarter. Their other receivers combined for two catches and 35 yards. San Francisco was already missing Ricky Pearsall, Deebo Samuel Sr., Christian Kirk, Demarcus Robinson and De'Zhaun Stribling.

"Obviously, he's one of our best playmakers," Purdy said. "It sucks having him go down, but I still believe in the guys that had to step up and make plays for us."

The 49ers play at Atlanta on Sunday before their bye. Washington falls to 1-4-1 and hosts the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 1 after its own bye week.