It was ugly, it was sloppy, and it was bad. But somehow the San Francisco 49ers found themselves with a chance to take the lead with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Brock Purdy’s second interception of the game killed that hope, and the 49ers suffered their first loss of 2026, falling 29-20 to the Atlanta Falcons. Since the Arizona game, it’s felt like the 49ers’ first loss was coming, but San Francisco staved off defeat with back-to-back one-possession wins before finally succumbing to Atlanta.
With the 49ers taking a 6-1 record into the bye week, these are the three stars from the Week 7 loss:
3rd Star: RB Kaelon Black
Let’s get it out of the way now: the fumble sucked, and it was the first sign that Sunday might not be the 49ers’ day. But on a day where the defense had no standouts, Black’s first NFL touchdown and his performance in relief of McCaffrey were good enough to earn the third star, despite the fumble.
With McCaffrey missing most of the first half, it was on Black to step up. And it was a rough start for the rookie. His day opened with a run that lost four yards, a play blown up by Kendal Daniels. He’d get back to zero yards with his next touch, but it wouldn’t be until his fifth carry to get his rushing yard total greater than zero.
But then Black would explode from there. The 49ers’ third drive would start with an 11-yard catch from George Kittle, but it would be all Black from there. He would move the 49ers into plus territory with a 15-yard run followed by a gain of seven. Black would close the drive with a mostly untouched 30-yard touchdown run to put the 49ers up 14-3.
His next and last impact on the game would be his fumble, but it was an encouraging overall performance with 12 carries for 63 yards and the touchdown in the spell of McCaffrey.
2nd Star: TE George Kittle
Sunday’s loss was such a stinker that half the reason Kittle earned the No. 2 star is that it was a good game on National Tight End Day.
Kittle celebrated the occasion with a game-high eight receptions for 88 yards, responsible for 30 percent of the 49ers’ passing offense.
The tight end’s day started with a 17-yard reception with the 49ers facing a third-and-4 on the team’s second drive of the game. He’d then open the 49ers’ next drive with an 11-yard catch to start what would end up being a touchdown-scoring drive.
He’d have a few more short receptions before closing his day with his longest reception, a 21-yard catch, but Kittle fumbled for the 49ers fourth turnover, ending the 49ers slim hopes of a comeback.
Not the best game from the People’s Tight End with the turnover, but a good enough performance on a holiday he created (although Kyle Juszczyk being called an “honorary tight end” should be enough to end the gimmick) to earn a star.
1st Star: RB Christian McCaffrey
Just like with Mike Evans last week against Washington, McCaffrey’s knock on Sunday completely hampered the 49ers offense.
It was painfully obvious Sunday was a scheduled McCaffrey game, with the 49ers running back getting six touches of the 49ers’ 10-play opening drive. He would take those touches and give the 49ers 69 total yards, ending the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put San Francisco up 7-0 early.
The 49ers’ second drive would start with Purdy connecting with McCaffrey for a five-yard pass with a little under seven minutes left in the first quarter. That would end up being McCaffrey’s last touch until the 8:15 mark in the third quarter, with the running back dealing with a thigh injury for most of Sunday.
In the time McCaffrey was off the field, the 49ers offense had three drives that lasted a combined 18 plays for 122 yards, ending in a punt, touchdown, and a fumble lost (on a drive. San Francisco had six drives with McCaffrey on the field, running 47 plays for 281 yards with two touchdowns, but the four others ended in some type of turnover, none at the fault of McCaffrey.
Three drives without McCaffrey averaged six plays for 41 yards, while the six with the running back averaged nearly eight plays for 47 yards. McCaffrey finished Sunday with 13 touches for 100 yards (his second 100-yard game in a row) with the touchdown. Curious just how different Sunday’s game could have gone had McCaffrey not missed those two drives. Nonetheless, his performance was easily the best by a 49er in Atlanta.
Throughout the season, we will track the three stars of the season by tallying points for each star award using a complex scoring system: three points for being the first star, two for the second, and one for the third. Through Week 7, the standings are:
- WR Mike Evans – 8 points
- QB Brock Purdy – 7 points
- RB Christian McCaffrey – 5 points
