5 49ers who need to step up to beat Atlanta Falcons

All eyes on these five 49ers.

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The San Francisco 49ers seem to be falling apart again this week, yet they are slight favorites over the Atlanta Falcons, who appeared solid on Monday Night Football.

If the 49ers are going to do what is expected and win another game, they are going to get some of these players to step up when called upon. 

Colton McKivitz

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McKivitz has been a slightly above-average tackle in the NFL, which is why the 49ers decided to pay him, because that is hard to find. However, that means he comes with his flaws; it typically comes in pass protection as speed rushers who can get lower than him and beat him around the edge. 

The Falcons do not have a dominant edge rusher, but between James Pearce, Leonard Floyd, Jalon Walker, and Arnold Ebikietie, the team has 35 pressures from their edge rushers with four sacks. That does not include Kaden Elliss, who blitzes off the edge as a linebacker and has a couple of sacks as well. If McKivitz cannot handle the speed, the 49ers are in trouble. 

Jauan Jennings

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Jennings has been the biggest disappointment in a wide receiver corps that is looking for players to step up. This week, they need to call on him. A.J. Terrell is known to travel with receivers, and if they want to, they can have him on Kendrick Bourne, who appears to be the top target right now. 

Jauan Jennings also aligns in the slot often, and the Falcons' starting slot cornerback, Billy Bowman, is unlikely to play. So, when he is outside, he may draw secondary coverage and inside, he gets a backup. He'd better have a big game, or he will see his contract get even smaller this offseason. 

Mykel Williams

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The Falcons have been playing with a backup right tackle all season. However, this past week, they lost left tackle Jake Matthews to a hamstring injury. Playing on Monday and traveling will make it tough for Matthews to suit up, and he has not practiced yet. With their swing tackle already starting, they will look to Mike Jerrell, which could be a massive issue if the 49ers have the pass rush to take advantage. 

Williams had his first sack on Sunday, but he aligned along the interior when he got it. It is time for him to get his first sack with a clean win over a tackle. 

Malik Mustapha

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When the 49ers lost Fred Warner, the biggest difference they lost was communication on the back end, and it led to guys like Cam Johnson and Tez Johnson being wide open. The 49ers eased Mustapha back from injury last week, but he not only needs to step into a full-time role, he needs to ensure the coverage leaks stop as well.

Tatum Bethune

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Mustapha needs to prevent the explosive plays, while Bethune will be keying on Bijan Robinson this week. That is a lot to ask a player for his first start when he is replacing Fred Warner. The star running back is going to get his, but we need to look back and see that Christian McCaffrey had more yards receiving than Robinson. That is partially on Bethune.