3 defensive shifts San Francisco 49ers used to beat Atlanta Falcons

These were key to the victory.

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The San Francisco 49ers are going to need an all-in effort from their defense every week to overcome the loss of their two superstars.

The team already made some shifts against the Atlanta Falcons and you can assume similar adjustments are going to come in the future as well. What did we see differently against Atlanta?

Kevin Givens returned when needed

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The 49ers got Givens back at the perfect time, because the defensive front could use as many bodies as they can. CJ West has been the fourth man in the rotation, but he is playing with a cast and he is a rookie from day three who is looking like things are moving a bit too fast for him right now. 

Still, none of his teammates are quite talented enough to take on a full workload, so the team leans into a four-man rotation. 

West played his lowest amount of snaps since Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, and it may be for the better. He can recover and get his head straight for the back half of the year while Givens gives them a better rotation on the interior. If anything, Givens may eventually be the starter with Alfred Collins by the end of the season, despite both being backups in this game. 

Jason Pinnock playing big nickel 

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The 49ers benched Jason Pinnock in favor of Ji’Ayir Brown, in part because Brown is a better fit next to Malik Mustapha. Some thought this would be the end of Pinnock, but he quickly re-appeared for 23 snaps against Atlanta, mostly in the dime package. 

This makes sense because Atlanta has Kyle Pitts, who you have to match with specific personnel. Still, Pinnock struggled, and if Mustapha can step back into a full-time role, you have to wonder if this role will be assigned to Marques Sigle next week.

Mykel Williams is rushing inside again 

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The loss of Nick Bosa has pushed rookie edge rusher Mykel Williams to the outside more often, despite one of his best traits being his ability to rush up and down the defensive front. They were able to get him along the interior for the second-highest rate of his career, behind just Week 1. 

This was partly because San Francisco was able to play with a lead late, and they were pushing Atlanta into obvious pass situations. Bryce Huff played more than usual, which kicked Williams inside. Still, with Huff sidelined it will be even harder to stick with this.