The San Francisco 49ers forced a three-and-out on the first drive of the game, thanks to a Robert Saleh blitz. The offense answered with a 9-play drive of their own with a couple of impressive rushes by Brian Robinson. However, Mac Jones couldn’t connect with Jauan Jennings on 3rd & 9.
The Falcons hit a big play to Kyle Pitts for 28 yards, but a holding call negated the big gain. That did not prevent Atlanta from moving the ball into San Francisco’s territory. The defense got the Falcons in a 2nd & 18, but a Renardo Green and Marques Sigle illegal contact gave Atlanta a fresh set of downs.
By the time the first quarter had ended, Atlanta had a 15-play that had taken over eight minutes off the clock. To begin the second quarter, Renardo Green was in the blue tent, and Darrell Luter was on the field. Malik Mustapha also subbed in for Sigle.
On 3rd down, Sam Okuayionu sacked Michael Penix with some assistance from Bryce Huff to limit the Falcons to a field goal. So, a 19-play drive only gave Atlanta a three-point lead.
Christian McCaffrey got going a bit on the next drive with rushes of 7, 5, and a season-high 15. Jauan Jennings converted a 3rd & 2 for 13 yards. Unfortunately, Jennings looked like he gator-armed an attempt to catch a pass over the middle. So, instead of third and short in the red zone, the Falcons had the game’s first turnover.
To make matters worse, Renardo Green was questionable to return with a toe injury. Deomodore Lenoir was the victim of an awful defensive pass interference call. But a pair of blitzes got the Falcons off the field, as they didn’t gain much of anything after the penalty.
The offense took over, but center Jake Brendel was ruled out for the game with a hamstring injury. San Francisco answered with an 11-play drive that featured another 10-yard run by McCaffrey. The 49ers faced a third down right after the two-minute drill. Mac Jones used his legs to find McCaffrey for 13 yards. CMC would punch it in for the Niners’ second rushing touchdown in a row to take a 7-3 lead.
A stop by the defense would go a long way with the offense getting the ball to start the third quarter. They didn’t just get a stop. Bryce Huff had a sack and a forced fumble, and Alfred Collins pounced on the ball. Mac Jones almost fumbled away the possession. Thankfully, Eddy Piniero continued to be automatic from 50 yards out. Piniero was good from 55 to give the Niners a 10-3 lead.
Penix took advantage of Luter on the following drive. He connected on a 38-yarder. However, Penix made a rookie-esque mistake with an intentional grounding call just before the half. That led to a 10-second run-off and did not allow Atlanta to attempt a field goal.
To begin the half, Jones found Kendrick Bounre for a 10-yard gain on 3rd & 9. Skyy Moore had his first impact play after making a defender miss and gaining 15 yards to put the offense in Atlanta’s territory. Jennings couldn’t get two feet down on the ensuing third down, which meant Pinero would need to try from 43 yards. He was good, and the Niners had a little breathing room to begin the half with a 13-3 lead.
The kick coverage gave up a 45-yard return, and just like that, Atlanta was in San Francisco’s territory. A fake screen pass to Kyle Pitts for 17 yards put Atlanta in the red zone. Two plays later, they were in the end zone, and it was 13-10.
Christian McCaffrey gained nine yards, but stepped out of bounds. That meant a short-yardage situation, which was an area where San Francisco has struggled all season. But a Kyle Juszczyk carry was blown up in the backfield, and the offense would punt it right back to the Falcons.
Saleh’s defense got into a 3rd & 13 situation. But Darrell Luter gave up a first-down completion. A Chase Lucas blitz forced another third and long. A delay of game penalty made it 3rd & 14. Would the defense have better luck this time? The answer is yes, as Luter held up this time against Casey Washington to force a punt.
As we headed into the fourth quarter, the 49ers were averaging nearly five yards per carry. They had the lead and the ball. It had been a quiet night for George Kittle in the box score, but his presence was felt in the running game.
Mac Jones elected to go deep to Demarcus Robinson on 3rd & 3, despite a couple of underneath receivers being open. It didn’t work out, as Robinson dropped the pass. You can’t fault Jones for the decision. It was a game-changing drop. Instead of a field goal, at worst, San Francisco was forced to punt.
A Tatum Bethune tackle for loss didn’t matter after Kyle Pitts caught a back-shoulder fade over Malik Mustapha. Bijan Robinson took a short pass 15 yards as well. Chunk plays were the only way Atlanta would get over on the Niners. On 4th & 1, the Falcons took Bijan off the field and threw the ball. Chase Lucas jumped Drake London’s route, nearly coming up with the first interception of the season for the defense.
That meant the Niners’ offense could all but ice the game with a touchdown. The 49ers took over with just over eight minutes to play. The offense picked up four first downs to take over five minutes off the clock. That led to a 3rd & 13, and Jones went to the player who had come through for the offense all season. McCaffrey, lined up in the slot, caught a 17-yard pass to put the ball inside the five.
McCaffrey, with the help of Connor Colby and Matt Hennessy, was pulled into the end zone to give the Niners a commanding 20-10 lead. McCaffrey had nearly as many receiving yards (72) as the rest of the 49ers combined (80). It was an electric performance that produced 12 first downs and seven forced missed tackles.
The only thing left to cross off was the 49ers getting their first interception of the season.
