Seconds before the San Francisco 49ers scored their first touchdown Monday night, ESPN analyst Troy Aikman used his telestrator to draw a yellow circle around wide receiver Mike Evans.
Evans didn't score. But he was a reason tight end George Kittle did. Evans, on the outside left, ran a crossing route to the back of the end zone, attracting two Commanders defenders, which allowed Kittle, in the left slot, to easily exploit a mismatch: Kittle got behind linebacker Kain Medrano for his 11-yard snag in the left corner.
Seconds before the 49ers scored their second touchdown, Aikman, again, drew a circle around Evans. It was 3rd-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Aikman was alerting viewers: Evans has scored 32 career touchdowns from inside the 5-yard line, including 10 1-yard scores.
Evans didn't score. But was his deep red-zone history a reason running back Christian McCaffrey wasn't touched on his touchdown?
The 49ers' 23-17 win over the Commanders was a fascinating illustration of the impact a player such as Evans can have. Not only on his own team's success, but also on an opponent's strategy.
Evans played 22 snaps before he was forced to leave with Achilles tendinitis shortly before halftime. The 49ers averaged 9.3 yards per play with Evans on the field. On the 38 snaps Evans was off the field: 4.5 yards per play.
Meanwhile, blitz-happy Commanders defensive coordinator Daronte Jones was conservative when Evans was in the game. In the first half, Washington blitzed quarterback Brock Purdy on eight of his 24 dropbacks (33%), blitzing just twice when Evans was on the field. In the second half, Jones blitzed Purdy on seven of his 10 dropbacks (70%), twice sending two extra defenders.
Was Kittle surprised by the lack of first-half pressure?
"That's a great question," Kittle said. "I would say I was surprised that they didn't blitz as much in the first half. And then when they did it in the second half, we just didn't have an answer for it."
The 49ers didn't have an answer partly because they didn't have Evans, who, at 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds, is a QB's best friend when under pressure.
"It's almost like when a tight end is matched up on a smaller DB," Purdy said last week. "And you know, ‘I just got to get the ball in this guy's vicinity, and he's going to go up and get it.' I definitely feel that with him."
Purdy didn't have anything resembling the same feeling with his four remaining healthy wideouts in the second half Monday. And that inspired Jones to keep sending more than four rushers, forcing Purdy to make quick decisions with some combination of Brandin Cooks, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowing and Malik Turner on the field. Purdy has targeted that quartet with 13 passes this season (Evans has 39 targets).
The 49ers' final three drives included two sacks, no first downs and 7 net yards. On the five snaps on which Purdy was blitzed he was 0 for 2, dropped for two sacks and had a 6-yard scramble.
With just over eight minutes left, on 2nd-and-4, right tackle Colton McKivitz looked inside to pick up blitzing linebacker Sonny Styles. The problem: No one blocked left defensive end Odafe Oweh, who wasn't touched before dropping Purdy for a 6-yard sack. On the next snap, Purdy rushed a throw to McCaffrey despite having a clean pocket. McCaffrey just turned his head as the incompletion sailed past him.
"Because of the pressure Washington's been able to get on him on the last couple possessions," Aikman said, "he turns it loose early."
Purdy will likely be without Evans on Sunday when the 49ers visit Atlanta, and his other top wideouts - Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson and De'Zhaun Stribling - will remain sidelined.
Once Evans exited, Jones began blitzing an offense with a barren wide receiver corps. Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was presumably taking notes.
• One of the biggest questions leading up to Sunday's game: What is the status of Upton Stout's right shoulder?
The second-year slot corner was forced to leave after his shoulder injury was aggravated when he was blocked by tight end Ben Sinnott. After Stout grabbed at his shoulder with about 10 minutes left, he was replaced by Ashtyn Davis. And the dropoff was steep.
Davis played 14 snaps. He missed two tackles, including a whiff on QB Jayden Daniels when he was unblocked on a blitz. Davis was also in coverage on wide receiver Treylon Burks' 30-yard reception, and he grabbed the back of wideout Antonio Williams' jersey, drawing an illegal contact penalty that wiped out a sack, on a 4th-and-8 play.
Davis, 30, had only played special teams in the season's first five games. He's listed as a safety. Why did he replace Stout instead of moving outside cornerback Deommodore Lenoir inside, where he has extensive experience, and replacing Lenoir with Jack Jones?
Head coach Kyle Shanahan indicated Davis had received more of the first-team practice work at nickel back with Stout limited with a shoulder injury he suffered in Week 4.
"We put (Lenoir) there a lot, but he didn't get as many of the reps," Shanahan said. "Then it's a chain reaction (to move Lenoir), so we thought Ashtyn could step it up and go in there and do his job. I thought he did a really good job at it."
But he didn't. Davis had the lowest Pro Football Focus grade (27.7) of any 49ers defender. If Stout is unavailable against Atlanta, it would qualify as a surprise if Davis was given another shot.
• Rookie pass rusher Romello Height had three tackles, four quarterback hits and split the game-sealing sack with Keion White that didn't allow Daniels to heave a Hail Mary.
Not bad. And not even close to a reflection of Height's impact.
The stat sheet didn't include that the third-round pick also drew two holding penalties as a pass rusher and had the fourth-down sack that was negated by Davis' penalty on Washington's penultimate drive.
"It seemed like he was all over the place," Shanahan said.
In the first quarter, right tackle Josh Conerly was flagged for holding Height. It set up a 2nd-and-17, which led to a punt two plays later. In the third quarter, left tackle Brandon Coleman held Height. It set up a 2nd-and-14, which led to a punt two plays later.
• Shanahan appeared to be managing Evans' snap count. Until he stopped.
After Evans played 14 of 26 snaps on the 49ers' first four drives, he played eight of the first nine snaps on their fifth possession, being forced to leave after he'd played eight straight snaps.
Shortly before Evans limped to the locker room, he was on all fours on the field, as if doing a pushup, in an attempt to stretch out his aching Achilles during a Washington timeout.
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There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at 49ers game review: Mike Evans effect makes WR a weapon even when not targeted.