49ers vs. Falcons Halftime: Marcus Mariota Stars as Atlanta Holds Lead
The Atlanta Falcons hit the locker room with a 21-14 lead over the San Francisco 49ers.
It was a tale of two quarters in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as the Falcons pieced together a dominant start, grabbing a 14-0 lead by the time the first 15 minutes came to a close.
Atlanta came out firing, putting together an 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive capped off by a pass from quarterback Marcus Mariota to tight end MyCole Pruitt.
The Falcons' defense established a similar tone early, forcing a three-and-out on the first series and then forcing, recovering, and return a Jeff Wilson fumble to the house to put Atlanta on top by two scores.
As the quarter ended, the Falcons had all of the energy and momentum. And then, it flipped.
The 49ers started the second quarter with a touchdown, forced a three-and-out, returned the punt for 35 yards and punched it in after four plays.
Atlanta, in desperate need of offense, went to work. The key play of the drive was a 15-yard scramble from Mariota to move the sticks on 3rd and 13. He followed it up with a 20-yard completion on a back-shoulder ball to rookie Drake London.
After a 16-yard run by Caleb Huntley on 2nd and 11, Mariota pulled the ball on the read option and beat a San Francisco defender to the corner for a touchdown.
The 49ers began the half-closing drive with 57 seconds on the clock and two timeouts in their back pocket. Atlanta nearly ended the half early, as Garoppolo was strip-sacked by Falcons outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie, but a hold on fellow outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter gifted San Francisco five yards and new life.
However, it proved not to matter, as corner Isaiah Oliver, in his first game since Week 4 of 2021, intercepted a Garoppolo pass intended for Deebo Samuel to bring the half to a close and give Atlanta momentum entering the break.
San Francisco will get the ball to start the second half.
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