The 6-0 San Francisco 49ers must take on what could be their trickiest test yet this season before heading into a well-earned bye week.
The 49ers put their undefeated record on the line against the volatile Atlanta Falcons in a morning tilt between the former NFC West rivals in Atlanta.
Atlanta looked like one of the worst teams in the league after the first two weeks of the season, but suddenly morphed into a competent team with the return of Michael Penix, winning their next two games to move to 2-2.
But the Falcons are on another two-game skid and now 2-4 as the 49ers head to town.
As the 49ers look to extend their win streak to seven and Atlanta looks to get back on track, these are the three numbers to know for the Week 7 meeting:
2.0
Turnovers per game. The Falcons offense averages two turnovers per game, the fifth-highest average in the league.
Four of Atlanta’s 12 turnovers this season were interceptions thrown by Cooper Rush, now a free agent, and five of the 12 came in the Falcons’ Week 2 loss to Carolina. But even under Michael Penix, Atlanta has been turnover-prone, turning the ball over four times in the last two games.
The first of those four was Tua Tagovailoa’s overtime interception in the loss to the Ravens, but that was Atlanta’s only turnover against Baltimore. Three came last week in Atlanta’s loss to Chicago, with Penix fumbling twice and losing one and Zachariah Branch losing both of his fumbles.
Regardless of who the quarterback is, turnovers have snakebitten Atlanta’s offense. Because of Atlanta’s inability to hold on to the ball, it’s one of five teams in the league that average at least two turnovers per game, and San Francisco has already faced one of those five teams. The Seattle Seahawks have turned the ball over 12 times this season, like the Falcons, and four of those 12 came at the hands of the 49ers.
That’s not to say the 49ers are going to force four turnovers against Atlanta, but the small sample size shows that the San Francisco defense can take advantage of teams who aren’t careful with the ball.
29.5
Rush attempts per game. Atlanta averages 29.5 rushes per game, the fifth-highest average in the league.
One way Atlanta tries to avoid the turnovers is by feeding Bijan Robinson as much as they can, and can you blame them? Entering Week 7, Robinson ranks top-five at running back in:
- Rushing yards (2nd – 641)
- Rushing first downs (4th – 30)
- Yards per attempt (2nd – 5.8)
- Attempts (4th – 11)
But it’s not just Bijan Robinson, as former 49er Brian Robinson has made himself comfortable as Bijan’s spell back. Brian Robinson has averaged 35.2 yards on about eight carries per game (about three-and-a-half more carries per game than he averaged with San Francisco in 2025), matching Bijan’s four rushing touchdowns.
With Robinson and Robinson, Atlanta’s offense ranks fourth in rushing yards (897) and has the third-highest yards per rush attempt (5.1).
San Francisco’s defense has proven to be ready to handle the run through the early part of the season. The 49ers are one of 10 defenses to allow fewer than 100 rushing yards per game, allowing 90.2 per game, seventh-best in the league. Only twice has San Francisco allowed more than 100 rushing yards in a game (Weeks 1 and 2), while Atlanta has rushed for fewer than 100 yards just once (Week 6).
The 49ers haven’t yet faced a team in the top-ten of rush attempts (the closest being Week 6 against Washington, who ranks), so Atlanta will be a stress test for a 49ers run defense that’s been in good form.
7.2
Percent. Atlanta’s defense has forced a turnover on 7.2 percent of drives, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
If the 49ers defense can take advantage of Atlanta’s turnover-prone offense, then the 49ers offense should be able to handle an Atlanta defense that hasn’t forced too many mistakes this season.
As its offense is one of five to average two or more turnovers per game, the defense is also on the wrong side of the leaderboard defensively, one of six defenses to force fewer than a turnover per game. But Atlanta’s only turnover-per-game is because it couldn’t force a turnover in Week 2. Outside of that, the Falcons have forced a turnover in five of their six games.
But San Francisco’s offense hasn’t been known to turn the ball over too much. Its 6.7 turnover rate is the eighth-best in the league, but three of the 49ers’ six turnovers came in one game. Outside of the Seattle game, San Francisco has turned the ball over three times in five games.
Maybe Atlanta gets one by chance against the 49ers’ offense on Sunday, but their season track record shows one is the most the Falcons should get against Purdy and the 49ers’ offense.
