San Francisco 49ers Beat Atlanta Falcons 20-10
The San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons were set for an NFC showdown on Sunday night football. The game would feature arguably two of the best running backs in Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson. Atlanta was coming off an upset on Monday night football against the Buffalo Bills, while the 49ers suffered their second loss of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
49ers Running Game Dominated
San Francisco’s offense was great tonight, and that was largely due to Christian McCaffrey’s dominating performance. CMC led the team in rushing and receiving yards tonight. He rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns, while hauling in over 70 yards on 7 catches. McCaffrey hasn’t had a game where he’s rushed for over 100 yards and really made an impact. Mac Jones also played a good game once again, with multiple key pieces missing on offense. Jones has done a nice job for the 49ers with the absence of Brock Purdy.
Their defense also stepped up in key moments tonight, making key plays when they needed to. Robert Saleh had a great game plan for Michael Penix, as the Falcons never generated anything on offense tonight. Bijan Robinson was quiet all night long after dominating the Buffalo Bills last week. Saleh was able to contain him all night long.
With their win tonight, the San Francisco 49ers remain tied for first place in the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams. They’ll head to Houston next week to take on the Texans. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not Brock Purdy can return to the field or if Mac Jones will get another start.
Falcons Offense Falls Flat
The Falcons really just couldn’t get anything going tonight. Michael Penix missed his targets, completing just 55% of his passes. It was a tough night overall for the Falcons’ offense, as they struggled to establish the run game. Against Buffalo, Atlanta dominated the running game, as Robinson rushed for over 160 yards. With their loss today, they’ve fallen to third place in the NFC South, behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers.
The Falcons will return home next week to take on the 1-6 Miami Dolphins, who benched their starting quarterback in today’s game against the Cleveland Browns. Atlanta was able to put together a solid drive in the middle of the fourth quarter, but was unable to convert on fourth down. They also struggled mightily to stop Christian McCaffrey. They couldn’t get any pressure in the interior, and the 49ers’ offensive line did a great job creating lanes for him.
