49ers Treat Falcons as a Stepping Stone in 31-13 Win
Business taken care of.
The 49ers treated the Falcons as a stepping stone in a 31-13 win.
This game looked like it could have gotten out of hand for the 49ers right from the jump. JaMycal Hasty coughed up the football to give the Falcons primetime field position. Scoring was a given for the Falcons until they gambled on fourth down and failed to convert the touchdown. San Francisco's defense, as usual, bailed out the mistakes of other units on the team.
Making that stonewall fourth down stand was a sign of what was to come for the game. The 49ers made easy work of the Falcons despite what some drives looked like. Atlanta never had a chance this game. Offensively they could not sufficiently block the 49ers pass rush. Defensively they had no idea how to slow down the 49ers. The only thing successful for the Falcons was chucking it up to Russell Gage who had rookie Ambry Thomas guarding him.
Outside of that, the Falcons were abysmal.
Even their best offensive player Cordarrelle Patterson was made light work of by the defense, which was to be expected. For two weeks straight, the 49ers have made Joe Mixon and now Patterson, the best offensive weapons of the opposition, look pedestrian. This defense is suffocating offenses. It doesn't even matter too much that the cornerback position is bleak. Nick Bosa and company are enough to keep passing threats off balance. They're still a force that offenses cannot crack.
As for the offense, the 49ers moved the ball with ease. Jeff Wilson Jr. was effective, George Kittle was bulldozing defenders, Deebo Samuel continued to explode, and Jimmy Garoppolo made some sweet throws. Everything was clicking perfectly on all cylinders for the 49ers outside of the opening kickoff return.
But this was to be expected.
Despite a 6-7 record, the Falcons are not a good football team. They're decent at best with only a couple of players worth mentioning. And those best players were made irrelevant by the 49ers. This was business as usual for the 49ers. Playoff contending teams take care of lowly teams. The 49ers really needed this win as they have to quickly forget about this game and turn it around for a challenging Thursday night matchup with the Titans on the road.
8-6 has the 49ers in great command to make the playoffs. They used the Falcons as a stepping stone for some momentum going into Tennessee. However, the 49ers cannot hope to win against the Titans if they continue to get negative plays from the special teams. That is a game where committing mistakes of any caliber will cost the game.
And the Titans will not lay down defensively like the Falcons did. The offense of the 49ers will need to bring it. You can bet your bottom dollar that Samuel, Kittle, and Aiyuk will. Hopefully Garoppolo joins them and a healthy Elijah Mitchell.
For now, the 49ers will happily take this win and lock it in Monday.
