The Atlanta Falcons knew they’d have to stop Christian McCaffrey, and they knew they’d need to attack a vulnerable San Francisco linebacker corps and secondary. While there were moments, and even long
stretches where the defense held up despite the loss of Divine Deablo, they didn’t do any of that on a consistent basis. They lost by failing to do what they knew must be done.
It continues a frustrating theme for this Falcons team, which seems incapable of stringing together more than a couple of quality games. After gritting out a win over the Commanders and dominating the Bills, they looked listless from the beginning against San Francisco, allowing McCaffrey to run all over them, failing to deliver consistent pressure, and allowing a handful of big, teeth-grinding passing plays. That was from the better side of the ball, too, as the Falcons offense once again disappeared when it needed to be great, managing a field goal drive and one impressive short field score with a heavy dose of Bijan Robinson. That was it, as otherwise the offense featured lots of missed opportunities, stymied throws, pressures allowed, and mistakes.
That added up to a 10 point loss where the Falcons only scored 10 points, a disconcerting habit of theirs this year. The defense was poor by their standards but was not terrible, and I feel confident in saying the Falcons can’t win many games against quality teams if their offense is going to continue to be staid, predictable, and error-prone. At some point, it has to change, but until we see that happen for more than a game or two, retain your healthy skepticism. Otherwise you’ll be burned, as many of us were again tonight.
Here’s the full drive-by-drive recap of the game you just watched, if you can stomach it.
1st Quarter
The Falcons got the ball first, and Jamal Agnew’s return only got to the 23. Bijan Robinson picked up five yards on first down. Michael Penix Jr. was flushed out of the pocket on second down, rolled out, and tried to hit a sideline shot to Kyle Pitts but missed. On third down, the Falcons threw it to Bijan but came up a little short. Punt, and Skyy Moore was taken down at the 15 yard line.
Mac Jones was sacked on first down by Zach Harrison. Christian McCaffrey then found a seam and picked up seven yards. A quick pass to McCaffrey from Jones went for a first down. Brian Robinson Jr. then took a toss and picked up nine yards before Kaden Elliss got him. Robinson then rumbled through the middle for about ten yards. Jones then hit Luke Farrell for another first down. Mac Jones dirted it on first down with the pass rush closing in. McCaffrey then picked up a couple of yards. Jones under pressure missed Jauan Jennings. Punt.
Bijan was eaten alive on first down for no gain. Penix then hit Darnell Mooney for a first down. Then Penix hit Kyle Pitts for about 20 yards and a first down, but it was called back owing to a hold on Elijah Wilkinson. Bijan then took it about six yards. Penix then fired one in to Drake London for about 10 yards. Penix found Pitts again, and this time the first down counted. On a play fake, Penix hit London for three yards. A quick screen to Bijan went for a first down. Penix had to throw it away on the next play with pressure coming. Then Penix hit Pitts again, who made a nice catch behind him for seven yards. The next carry for Robinson just picked up three yards as he cut for a first down. Penix then scrambled away from pressure and decided to throw it, missing Tyler Allgeier, but a penalty on Ryan Neuzil for being illegally downfield moved the Falcons back five yards. A screen to Pitts was then stopped for a loss. Penix then ran for a few yards, but an illegal contact gave the Falcons five yards and a first down. Penix then threw an inexplicable lob that fell harmlessly to the turf. On second down, Penix scrambled around a bit and was able to find Bijan for nine yards. Tyler Allgeier then easily picked up the first down.
2nd Quarter
Bijan rolled for four yards. Robinson made a great cut to avoid a loss and was able to get a couple on second down. Penix was then sacked on third down and Parker Romo was able to hit his field goal try. 3-0 Falcons.
Touchback and the 49ers started things off at the 30. Mac Jones just missed on first down under pressure. McCaffrey then powered through JD Bertrand for seven yards. Jones then hit Jennings for a first down. McCaffrey then took it five yards. McCaffrey then found an opening and rolled for 15 more. Brian Robinson then picked up two. On the next play, a tipped pass was picked off by Kaden Elliss, ending the drive.
Bijan then took a pitch for a yard. Penix took a sideline shot to Darnell Mooney that was nearly picked off, but the 49ers were called for pass interference. On first down, Penix threw one out of bounds in the vicinity of Bijan Robinson. Penix then had to run away from pressure and picked up a copule of yards. Penix then got rid of it under pressure, and the Falcons had to punt. It landed in the end zone for a touchback.
A pitch to McCaffrey got a first down. Then he picked up seven yards up the middle. Another delayed handoff missed the incoming pressure and McCaffrey got 13. Sam Roberts then stuffed McCaffrey for a minimal gain. Jones then hit Jennings for six yards. McCaffrey then was able to bounce one outside for a first down. He followed that up with a couple of yards. A delayed handoff to Robinson went for four more yards. Jones then hit Jennings for another first down. Leonard Floyd blew into the backfield to ensure a loss of yards. Jones then hit Kyle Juszczyk for about six yards. Jones then had plenty of time before pressure got close and McCaffrey caught it, bringing it down to the two yard line. McCaffrey then blew into the end zone basically untouched to give San Francisco the lead, 7-3.
Agnew took it past the 30 on the return. A quick pass to Pitts went for four yards, and then Pitts caught another one for eight yards and a first down. Penix was then sacked, fumbled, and the 49ers recovered.
Jones got it to a receiver for about six yards. David Onyemata then knocked down the pass headed for McCaffrey for an incompletion. Jones was then hit as he threw by Floyd and was caught by an offensive lineman for a couple of yards, but Eddy Pineiro hit it from 55 yards out to make it 10-3 49ers.
Agnew slipped and muffed the kickoff, and then the Falcons got it around the 20. Penix then found London on a sideline ball for 19, and he swiftly got out of bounds. Then Penix launched one for 38 yards to Mooney, who managed to pick up a few extra yards, and Atlanta called their final timeout. Penix then threw it away under pressure on first down, but was called for intentional grounding. That ran ten seconds off the clock and ended the half.
3rd Quarter
The 49ers return went to the 32. McCaffrey was eaten alive by JD Bertrand for a yard. Mac Jones was under a ton of pressure on second down, rolled out, and ultimately threw it away. Jones then hit Kendrick Bourne for a first down. A pass to Skyy Moore a couple yards out then went for another first down after a missed tackle. McCaffrey then picked up four yards. McCaffrey then got another two yards, and then cut it back inside for another first down. The pressure nearly got home on Jones and he threw one off-kilter to George Kittle for an incompletion. Robinson then was hit by David Onyemata for no gain. Then Jones tried Jennings to the sideline, but he caught it out of bounds. The 49ers hit their field goal try to make it 13-3 San Francisco.
Jamal Agnew took the kickoff past the 50, setting the Falcons up with excellent field position. Bijan then took it six yards on first down. He followed that up with a couple more yards. Tyler Allgeier then cut it outside and picked up the first. Penix then found a streaking Kyle Pitts for close to 15 yards and a first down. Robinson then caught a screen and went for eight yards. Another screen went to Robinson again, and this time he scored. 13-10 49ers after that.
Skyy Moore was drilled at the 25 on the return. McCaffrey got three yards on first down. McCaffrey then caught a pass, survived a missed tackle, and made it close to a first down. Then Kyle Juszczyk took the carry, was stymied early, and ultimately cleaned up by Xavier Watts for a loss of yards. Punt, and Jamal Agnew picked up about ten yards.
Penix on the play action pass rolled out, held it, and then tried a sideline shot. Another penalty on Matthew Bergeron being illegally downfield cost the Falcons five. Bijan then took it for a couple of yards. Penix then tried to throw it to Bijan and Robinson was smothered, incomplete. Then Penix fired a low ball to a diving Casey Washington, who picked up a first down. A would-be screen to Pitts then went for a yard, and the pass was a bit low. Penix then fired a sideline shot to Drake London, who reeled it in and extended to get a first down. Bijan then took it a couple of yards. Under pressure and going down, Penix managed to get rid of it. On the next play, the Falcons somehow couldn’t get the snap off again and suffered a delay of game on what otherwise looked like a first down. Penix then tried Casey Washington on the sideline but couldn’t get him. Punt, and KhaDarel Hodge got it down inside the five yard line.
The 49ers got four yards on first down, and then a pass to McCaffrey went for a first down.
4th Quarter
Another quick pass to McCaffrey went for another first down. Then McCaffrey got two yards. Jennings then got a few yards, but a deep shot was a little underthrown and Mike Hughes was all over it for an incompletion. Jamal Agnew then got the return, but was tackled after a few yards.
Tyler Allgeier rolled for about seven yards. A quick screen to Bijan went for 15 yards. Allgeier was then swiftly stopped for a loss of a yard. Penix then went for Pitts again to the sideline for another first down. Allgeier then took it a couple of yards up the middle, but Allgeier was shaken up on the play. Another quick pass to Robinson went for seven yards, and then a toss to Bijan did not pick up a yard. That brought us to 4th and 1, and the pass to London was broken up. Turnover on downs.
A screen to McCaffrey then went for almost a first down. A quick Mac Jones plunged picked up the first. McCaffrey then picked up another first down on the ground. Brian Robinson then got seven yards. Robinson was tripped up after a couple of yards. Jones then pulled off another sneak for a first down. Jones then got away from pressure and scrambled for nine yards. Then the Falcons got called for 12 men on the field. A quick run picked up a few, and then Zach Harrison blew up the run play in the backfield for a loss. McCaffrey then caught a first down over the middle. Somehow, McCaffrey managed to score a touchdown after being stood up early on. 20-10 49ers.
The Falcons started around their own 20. Penix then took a deep shot to a diving Mooney, who saw it go through his arms. Penix then fired one to Mooney for a first down. Penix was then hit as he threw and it fluttered to the turf, but the initial call was apparently a fumble despite no real evidence of it being a fumble. On review, it was an incomplete pass. Penix was then sacked and got up hobbling, but an illegal contact call on the defense made it five yards and a first down. Under pressure again, Penix threw it away toward Pitts, and then missed Mooney badly on second down. Then Penix tried a London sideline shot, but London couldn’t reel it in. On fourth down, going for it one final time, Penix threw it and it was in the turf.
McCaffrey rumbled for a first down, inevitably. Then Brian Robinson took it about six yards and the 49ers kneeled it out.
