SANTA CLARA, Calif. — For most of the first half, it looked as if the banged-up San Francisco 49ers were poised to head into their bye week with seven straight wins and an undefeated record.
Then the impact of the absences of key players mounted, they couldn’t hold onto the ball and then gave a game away to the Atlanta Falcons in a 29-20 loss Sunday that will sting for the next week for everyone from coach Kyle Shanahan on down.