Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers forced a three-and-out on the first drive of the game, thanks to a Robert Saleh blitz. The offense answered with a 9-play drive of their own with a couple of impressive rushes by Brian Robinson. However, Mac Jones couldn’t connect with Jauan Jennings on 3rd & 9.
The Falcons hit a big play to Kyle Pitts for 28 yards, but a holding call negated the big gain. That did not prevent Atlanta from moving the ball into San Francisco’s territory. The defense got the Falcons in a 2nd & 18, but a Renardo Green and Marques Sigle illegal contact gave Atlanta a fresh set of downs.
By the time the first quarter had ended, Atlanta had a 15-play that had taken over eight minutes off the clock. To begin the second quarter, Renardo Green was in the blue tent, and Darrell Luter was on the field. Malik Mustapha also subbed in for Sigle.
On 3rd down, Sam Okuayionu sacked Michael Penix with some assistance from Bryce Huff to limit the Falcons to a field goal. So, a 19-play drive only gave Atlanta a three-point lead.
Christian McCaffrey got going a bit on the next drive with rushes of 7, 5, and a season-high 15. Jauan Jennings converted a 3rd & 2 for 13 yards. Unfortunately, Jennings looked like he gator-armed an attempt to catch a pass over the middle. So, instead of third and short in the red zone, the Falcons had the game’s first turnover.
To make matters worse, Renardo Green was questionable to return with a toe injury. Deomodore Lenoir was the victim of an awful defensive pass interference call. But a pair of blitzes got the Falcons off the field, as they didn’t gain much of anything after the penalty.
The offense took over, but center Jake Brendel was ruled out for the game with a hamstring injury. San Francisco answered with an 11-play drive that featured another 10-yard run by McCaffrey. The 49ers faced a third down right after the two-minute drill. Mac Jones used his legs to find McCaffrey for 13 yards. CMC would punch it in for the Niners’ second rushing touchdown in a row to take a 7-3 lead.
A stop by the defense would go a long way with the offense getting the ball to start the third quarter. They didn’t just get a stop. Bryce Huff had a sack and a forced fumble, and Alfred Collins pounced on the ball. Mac Jones almost fumbled away the possession. Thankfully, Eddy Piniero continued to be automatic from 50 yards out. Piniero was good from 55 to give the Niners a 10-3 lead.
Penix took advantage of Luter on the following drive. He connected on a 38-yarder. However, Penix made a rookie-esque mistake with an intentional grounding call just before the half. That led to a 10-second run-off and did not allow Atlanta to attempt a field goal.
To begin the half, Jones found Kendrick Bounre for a 10-yard gain...
