Young’s Homecoming: 49ers Seek NFC Top Spot in Washington

Young’s Homecoming: 49ers Seek NFC Top Spot in Washington

Chase Young is returning to Washington with the San Francisco 49ers exactly two months after the hometown team, where he was briefly the face of the franchise, traded him west for essentially the same price they would have had they let him walk in free agency . . Young called it “just another game.

” His old commanding teammates know better. “He’s going to come in here and try to do his best,” wide receiver Terry McLaurin said. “He’s really excited to come home and play against his former team and everything.” Young and the NFC-leading Niners (11-4) won’t need any extra motivation Sunday: They can finish in first place in the conference this weekend with a win and a loss against Detroit and Philadelphia and be out of the game. . a humiliating home loss to AFC best Baltimore. But it sure doesn’t hurt that it’s the return of the 2020 No. 2 pick and a couple of other Washington alumni, coach Kyle Shanahan and left tackle Trent Williams.

“It’s going to be fun,” Young said. – At the end of the day, it’s just a ball game. What happens between those white lines determines the outcome.” Unless Williams is sidelined by a groin injury, this will be his first game as a visitor at FedEx Field, as will Young, who was a third-round pick when officials said he wasn’t feeling well. habits and was unruly and the organization considered his business to be “divorce compounding”. Coach Ron Rivera did not deny the reports, saying, “I’m not sure why it came up.

That’s probably a bigger question. If you’re not going to put your name on it, don’t. It’s not fair. With these things, it’s not fair to the player.andquot; Youngand fell out of favor as Washington’s Defensive Player of the Year after missing voluntary offseason workouts in his second pro season, which he started slowly before suffering a torn ACL in his right knee, and a long rehab and developmental slump that contributed to the Commanders. giving up his five-year options. He has 2 1/2 sacks since the shift, and fellow 49ers running back and former Ohio State teammate Nick Bosa said Young is still improving.

 

“This week is huge for him,” Bosa said. andquot;He’s already pretty fired up and fired up about it, so we’re going to try to play our best game for him.

” RETURN TO THE SAIL Niners quarterback Brock Purdy had the worst game of his short career. He threw four interceptions in the loss to the Ravens before leaving the game early with a concussion. Despite the rough climb, Purdy still leads the NFL with a 112.2 passer rating and 9.7 yards per attempt. “He’s just got to go ahead and treat it like a game,” Shanahan said. “I know it’s always tough when you have four picks and no touchdowns, especially when you have two minutes left in the third quarter, four.

 

But you also examine everybody, talk to him about why they happened, what happened. If you’re going to watch this game, it won’t be hard for him to bounce back and get to work this week. CARRIED QB CHANGE Jacoby Brissett is the quarterback for Washington (4-11), replacing season starter Sam Howell, who leads the league with 17 interceptions and fumbled in the previous two games.

 

Brissett, a 31-year-old journeyman, is entering his 49th NFL start. “I’m just excited to take advantage of this opportunity and get out there and get a chance to play football,” Brissett said. Brissett, who signed a $10 million contract this offseason in anticipation of a chance to compete for the top job, quickly becomes the ninth QB in Washington in the four seasons since Rivera took over.

 

POWERFUL McCAFFREY Christian McCaffrey continues to put up numbers at an impressive rate for the 49ers. He had 131 yards rushing last week and tied for a franchise-record eighth straight game with at least 100. He also scored his 21st touchdown, tying Raheem Mostert for the NFL lead and coming within two of Jerry Rice’s 1987 season-shortened team record. He is 68 yards from the possession of the Ninersand#039; Fifth season with at least 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

And he’s just one of San Francisco’s options in the league and the second-best offense. “They have a lot of weapons,” Chiefs defenseman Jonathan Allen said. “You know the ball is going to come out fast. They’re a well-coached team (with) a phenomenal game.”