Niners Nation
After an emotional Week 6 loss to Tampa Bay, the San Francisco 49ers returned to their winning ways with a 20-10 win on Sunday Night Football over the Atlanta Falcons.
The win moves the 49ers to 5-2 in what was their most impressive win on the season so far. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh had his best game of the season, despite being without Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and Upton Stout while losing Renardo Green during the action on Sunday.
Each backup at those positions played well, with Bryce Huff, Tatum Bethune, Chase Lucas, and Darrell Luter stepping up and each having moments in this game. But it’s the first two on that list that played well enough to earn a star in Sunday’s win:
Third star: LB Tatum Bethune
It felt like any time Bethune was involved in a play, NBC would mention that the second-year linebacker was replacing Fred Warner. With some mighty big shoes to fill, Bethune’s first go as Warner’s replacement was solid.
Bethune didn’t have any plays that stood out, but he finished with a team-high 10 total tackles, with four being solo tackles. He started his day off well enough, making his first tackle of the game by meeting Bijan Robinson at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
The linebacker’s most impactful play of the game came in the fourth quarter when again, he stopped Robinson, but this time for a loss of two yards, resulting in Bethune’s lone tackle for loss. Bethune also had a sack on the Falcons’ final drive of the game, only for it to be wiped out by a Deommodore Lenoir illegal contact.
Outside of that, it was a solid day at the office for Bethune, with nothing necessarily standing out. But that’s precisely what the 49ers need from the linebacker: solid, mistake-free football. Any big plays he makes can be seen as extra. With the performance on Sunday night, Bethune is one-for-one in his role of replacing the best linebacker in football, and that’s enough to earn Sunday’s third star.
Second star: DE Bryce Huff
The 49ers’ pass rush has struggled since Nick Bosa, recording only two sacks in the three games since Bosa went down in Week 3.
Behind Huff’s lead, San Francisco finished Sunday with two sacks, their first multi-sack game since Week 2 in New Orleans. Sam Okuayinonu opened the scorebook for the defensive line, getting to Michael Penix on a third down to hold a 19-play Falcons drive to just three points. That’s when Huff took over with a pair of plays that changed how the first half would end.
Atlanta would get the ball back with 1:42 left in the second quarter after the 49ers scored their first touchdown of the game to go up 7-3. The Falcons’ offense had a chance to match and take the lead going into the half and had a promising start to the drive with a pair of passes moving the ball near midfield. That’s when Huff...
