The Washington Commanders have a long trip back home and plenty to work on heading into their bye week.

The Commanders struggled to get going on both sides of the football in their 23-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. They put up a fight to climb back from a 20-point deficit and nearly succeeded, but a series of self-inflicted wounds, whether it was pre-snap penalties on offense or miscues on defense, put the Commanders in difficult positions early against a 49ers squad, led by quarterback Brock Purdy, that improved to 6-0 to start the season.

What's more, Washington's bad luck with injuries continued, as Terry McLaurin was carted off the field with an apparent knee injury.

It seemed as if any positive moment the Commanders had was either overshadowed by one from the 49ers or erased by mistakes. The 49ers started hot and stayed that way throughout the night, amassing 303 yards on offense compared to 90 for the Commanders in the first half. Purdy, who was 17-of-22 for 214 yards and a touchdown in the first half, directed an offense that generated 17 first downs. He was relatively unbothered as he sat in the pocket and distributed the ball to seven different receivers.

Things were much different in the second half. Washington rallied to nearly come back from a three-score deficit with an impressive effort from Daniels. He ended the night with 300 passing yards and two touchdowns on 29 completions and had the Commanders within one score of upsetting the 49ers in their stadium.

While Washington put together a valiant effort, outgaining the 49ers in the second half 224-72, the team is still trying to put together four competitive quarters of football.

Purdy set the tone for the night on the opening drive, converting a pair of third downs and connecting with George Kittle in the left corner of the end zone.

Washington's offense had positive plays that brought them into the 49ers territory but often stalled around midfield. Daniels' first pass of the day went to McLaurin for 27 yards, which did get them in range for a field goal, but that was followed up by three plays that covered just five yards.

The 49ers responded by picking up where they left off. Mike Evans, who injured his Achilles tendon and was ruled out for the second half, opened things up with a 54-yard catch-and-run that moved his offense to the Commanders' 18-yard line. They got to the 11 when they decided to stay on the field for a fourth down, and Purdy converted with a seven-yard pickup on the ground. Christian McCaffrey ended the drive about two minutes later with a one-yard touchdown run.

San Francisco's offense cooled off for a bit after that, and it presented an opportunity for Washington to narrow the 10-point deficit. It appeared as though they would do so, too, as Chig Okonkwo turned a pass from Daniels into a 29-yard gain. The offense stalled again, though, as the unit failed to convert a fourth-and-2 at the 49ers' 13-yard line.

The Commanders were gifted with another opportunity on the 49ers' ensuing drive when K'Lavon Chaisson punched the ball away from McCaffrey's grasp. The offense ended up punting the ball back to the 49ers three plays later, as Daniels was sacked on third-and-16. This time, the 49ers finished the drive in the end zone, as they marched down the field on 14 plays and capped it off with another one-yard touchdown from McCaffrey.

The 49ers opened the second half by forcing a Commanders punt and a field goal to make the score 23-3, but Washington began to wake up after that.

In what was the Commanders' best drive of the night up to that point, Daniels completed all five of his passes on the 11-play drive, including a 13-yard pass to Diggs that converted a fourth-and-5. He found Diggs again right at the goal line, giving the veteran his fourth score of the season.

A three-and-out from the Commanders' defense led to another touchdown from the offense. Daniels connected with Antonio Williams for a 23-yard reception and then found Rachaad White for a nine-yard score.

The defense came up big with another three-and-out, highlighted by a sack from Odafe Oweh. Daniels, who completed a 30-yard pass to Treylon Burks on the drive, got the Commanders to the 49ers' 17-yard line before facing a fourth-and-3. He nearly had Burks at the goal line, but Burks could not hold onto the pass as he slammed to the ground.

The Commanders forced one more stop and gave the offense a final chance at taking the lead. However, Daniels was sacked on the final play, resulting in the 49ers victory.

Washington has back-to-back home games after the bye week, starting with a key division matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.