San Francisco’s season that has been equal parts charmed and snakebitten continued Sunday with another victory even though many of the team’s playmakers remain injured.
This time, in a 20-10 win over Atlanta on “Sunday Night Football,” they remained without starting quarterback Brock Purdy and were playing for the first time without star linebacker Fred Warner following his season-ending injury last week. And yet the 49ers yet again found a way to win despite the attrition by limiting star Atlanta back Bijan Robinson and receiver Drake London.
San Francisco (5-2) held Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to 21-of-38 passing for 241 yards and a touchdown.
Robinson entered Week 7 as one of three players all-time to have gained at least 822 yards from scrimmage through a season’s first five games, yet outside of a 10-yard touchdown catch, he was largely held in check, gaining 92 yards from scrimmage.
Atlanta fell to 3-3. Its passing defense this season was the best in the league, but its rushing defense could do little to stop Robinson’s offseason training partner, 49ers back Christian McCaffrey. He gained 129 yards on the ground with two touchdowns and also caught seven passes for 72 more yards.
London, Atlanta’s leading receiver, had four catches for 42 yards.
San Francisco quarterback Mac Jones completed 17 of his 26 passes for 152 yards and threw an interception. With Warner, the All-Pro linebacker, watching from a suite, his injured leg elevated — he is one of six key 49ers players who has missed significant amounts of time this season because of injury — Tatum Bethune took over his spot on the defense and finished with 10 tackles, a team high.
The win helped the 49ers keep pace with the Los Angeles Rams (5-2) in the NFC West, with the possibility that still another division rival, Seattle, will match that record Monday. The 49ers improved to 5-1 against NFC teams. Atlanta, meanwhile, remains third in the NFC South.
Final: 49ers 20, Falcons 10
Gutsy performance tonight by a heavily injured 49ers squad.
Christian McCaffrey ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns in his best game of the season to lead San Francisco to a double-digit victory.
The 49ers held the Falcons to under 300 yards on offense and pitched a shutout in the first and fourth quarters.
San Francisco is now 5-2, while Atlanta falls to 3-3.
Falcons turn it over on downs
Michael Penix threw incomplete on fourth-and-10, and the 49ers will have the ball back leading 20-10 with 1:27 to go.
The Falcons have two timeouts left, but that should basically do it for this one.
Watch: McCaffrey can't be tackled en route to touchdown
San Francisco scores the dagger touchdown
When Falcons defensive end Zach Harrison tackled Christian McCaffrey for a five-yard loss, leaving the 49ers a third-and-13 situation deep in Atlanta's territory, it felt like a play that might have kept the Falcons in the game. Trailing by three, a touchdown by San Francisco would all but end the game, while a field goal would give them a chance.
Yet one play after Harrison's hustle, the 49ers converted their long third down behind a 17-yard pass to McCaffrey, just four yards from the end zone. The 49ers would go on to punch in a touchdown run, on an unbelievable effort play by McCaffrey, to lead 20-10 with 2:31 to play.
Falcons have now allowed most rushing yards this season
Atlanta had allowed 114 yards on the ground this season on average, with 147 the most it had given up, back in Week 4. The 49ers have surpassed that already, however, now up to 158 yards while rushing for 4.8 yards per carry. Atlanta's defense under new coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been perhaps the most improved unit in the NFL this season, but San Francisco has repeatedly gashed it.
Atlanta fails on fourth down
Instead of attempting a 53-yard field goal that could have tied the score at 13-all, Atlanta went for fourth down and 1 but Michael Penix's pass to Drake London was incomplete. He was lucky it wasn't intercepted by defensive back Chase Lucas.
Can Falcons get the ball to best receiver?
Drake London entered tonight averaging nearly seven catches for 85 yards per game and had benefited most from quarterback Michael Penix's strong last two games. Yet tonight, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has found ways to cover London and limit him to six targets. Those targets have resulted in four catches for 42 yards. The Falcons badly need to find ways to stretch the field to give star back Bijan Robinson more room. Can they get the ball to London in the fourth quarter?
No catch, no flag on physical play
The 49ers punt after a six-play drive to open the fourth quarter after their third-down conversion fell through the arms of receiver Demarcus Robinson. There was physical coverage on the play, but a penalty for pass interference was not called.
End of third quarter: 49ers 13, Falcons 10
Through three quarters, San Francisco and Atlanta have each produced 15 first downs, one turnover apiece and virtually the same yardage (226 for San Francisco, two fewer than Atlanta). They've gotten there via different methods, with San Francisco's 122 rushing yards far more than Atlanta's 55.
Bijan Robinson is up to 72 yards from scrimmage, while Christian McCaffrey has 134 yards, including 101 on the ground.
Falcons drive doomed by penalty
Atlanta was in position to potentially score again, facing third-and-9 from San Francisco's 42-yard line, when quarterback Michael Penix found tight end Kyle Pitts for a gain that would have been close to the first-down marker. But the play was blown dead almost immediately due to a false start, and the Falcons couldn't recover after that.
They have punted to San Francisco, which gets the ball back with a minute remaining in the third quarter.
