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Will the 49ers finally get an interception?
Entering this week’s games, only two teams had yet to intercept a single pass — the winless New York Jets and the 49ers.
Unlike the Jets, who have just one forced turnover all season, the fewest in the league, the 49ers have had success forcing fumbles, with five. Atlanta, meanwhile, has intercepted five passes and forced three fumbles.
ShareRobinson on players he emulates in his game
Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson sits down with Rodney Harrison to share running backs he looked up to growing up, training with Christian McCaffrey, playing with Michael Penix Jr. and much more.
ShareTwo of league’s best backs are also workout partners
Both San Francisco’s and Atlanta’s offenses hinge on the production of running backs. Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris has called Bijan Robinson “the best player in football,” while the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey has in the past been an MVP candidate. The similarities between their shifty games owe partly to the fact that Robinson and McCaffrey spent time working out together during the last offseason.
“He taught me a whole bunch of nuanced moves that I got to learn on the field, and I did the same with him,” Robinson said. “I think it’s just really cool having McCaffrey be a brother to me, as well, and so I can learn all the cool things that he has done on the field, and vice versa.”
ShareStrength meets strength
This will be a fascinating showdown between an Atlanta defense that allows the fewest passing yards and a San Francisco offense that throws for the most yards.
49ers quarterback Mac Jones could expect heavy pressure. The Falcons have blitzed on 49% of opponents’ dropbacks, which is 10 percentage points higher than the next-closest defense, according to Next Gen Stats.
ShareRobinson, McCaffrey join elite company
Jim Brown holds the NFL record for most yards from scrimmage gained through the first five games of a season — 988, in 1963. It’s rare when any player even comes close.
Yet this season, Christian McCaffrey of San Francisco gained 866 yards through five games, second most all-time, and Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson gained 822, sixth most.
ShareA much different sacks story this season
Last season, Atlanta produced only 31 sacks, the second fewest in the NFL. Not even halfway through this season, however, the Falcons already have 14.
Leonard Floyd, an offseason signing from San Francisco, has contributed 1½ sacks. Rookies Jalon Walker, James Pearce Jr. and Billy Bowman Jr., who were all drafted within the first four rounds last spring, have combined for two sacks.
ShareHow McCaffrey can be the difference vs. Atlanta
Jac Collinsworth, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison preview the Atlanta Falcons’ NFC showdown with the San Francisco 49ers on the road.
ShareBeware of Bijan
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson has averaged 9.1 yards per touch in his last two games and has produced 100 or more yards from scrimmage in every game this season. If he were to continue on his current pace, Robinson would finish with 2,794 yards from scrimmage, the most in NFL history. (The record holder, Chris Johnson, gained 2,509 in 2009.)
Robinson joins Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas, in 1991, as the only other player in NFL history to gain at least 450 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards through the first five games of a season.
ShareAtlanta’s defense is tops
A key to beating Buffalo last week was the play of Atlanta’s defense, which sits atop many statistical categories nearly halfway through the season.
Under first-year coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, Atlanta has yet to allow an opponent more than 300 yards. In fact, the 1,267 yards the Falcons have allowed are the franchise’s fewest in any five-game span since 1998.
Their 253-yards-against average leads the NFL, as does the 139 passing yards they’ve allowed on average. The Falcons have also been excellent on third down, allowing conversions just 32% of the time, which ranks fourth best. Keep this up and they’ll make history; Atlanta hasn’t produced a top five defense in total yards since 1978.
SharePreviewing the game between 49ers and Falcons
The “Sunday Night Football” showdown between the Falcons and 49ers should be a great game, as Atlanta looks to build off a win against Buffalo, and Mike Florio and Chris Simms like them to keep things rolling vs. San Fran.
ShareSuper sub
With starter Brock Purdy out, San Francisco plugged in quarterback Mac Jones to great success. He has thrown for six touchdowns against three interceptions and an NFL-best 313 yards per game as an understudy. From passer rating to completion percentage, Jones’ statistics have been better than Purdy’s. There is no quarterback competition, however, once Purdy returns from injury, general manager John Lynch said last week.
Share49ers activate TE George Kittle, DL Kevin Givens from IR
Help is on the way for the 49ers.
The team announced it has activated tight end George Kittle and defensive lineman Kevin Givens from injured reserve back to the active roster. Both will be available against the Falcons on “Sunday Night Football.”
Kittle tore his right hamstring in the second quarter of the Sept. 7 season opener. He made four catches for 25 yards and a touchdown before leaving.
Givens has not played this season after injuring a pectoral muscle in August.
ShareFalcons send Ray-Ray McCloud home
Wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud will not be playing for the Falcons this weekend and it’s unclear if he’s going to be playing for them at any point in the future.
McCloud was a healthy scratch for last Monday’s win over the Bills and he did not practice at all this week. The Falcons cited a non-injury reason for his absence and head coach Raheem Morris said on Monday that McCloud was excused as the team tries to work through some issues with him.
ShareMichael Penix turning the corner?
Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., a first-round pick in 2024, did not have a seamless start to his career, with a 2-4 record with four touchdowns and five interceptions in his first six games, dating to last season.
In his last two, however, he has thrown three touchdowns against one interception, and his completion percentage has risen by 11 percentage points. That includes a win over Buffalo, a preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl, in which he threw for 250 yards without a turnover.
“This team is really legit,” Penix said after the win.
ShareFalcons should be ‘small favorites’ against 49ers
With “a lot of positives” for a rising Falcons’ offense against a 49ers defense without several key players, Drew Dinsick and Jay Croucher think there’s plenty of reason to bet on Atlanta.
ShareInjury toll continues in San Francisco
Fred Warner’s season-ending dislocated ankle last week would have been a devastating injury to San Francisco all by itself; Warner has been named a first-team All-Pro linebacker four of the past five seasons.
“Devastating,” receiver Jauan Jennings said.
Unfortunately for the 49ers, Warner’s was just the latest in a string of injuries dating to last season that have derailed their Super Bowl ambitions.
QB Brock Purdy (shoulder, missed four of six games)WR Brandon Aiyuk (knee, yet to play)WR Ricky Pearsall (knee, missed last two games)TE George Kittle (hamstring, missed five games)DL Nick Bosa (ACL, season-ending)