Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Falcons have their way with 49ers in Atlanta

Week 15 - Heading into their Week 15 match-up in Atlanta with the (8-5) Falcons, the (1-12) 49ers knew they had a tall task ahead as Atlanta entered the game averaging over 30 points per game and coming off a 42-14 road shellacking of the Rams. And with San Francisco still seeking its first road win of the season, it was unlikely it would come against a high octane offense like Atlanta's who would be without their star receiver in Julio Jones. With Jones nursing a toe injury, the Falcons would rely heavily on their dominant run game as their trio of backs would pile up over 200 yards rushing on the afternoon, carving up a 49ers defense that is more than ready to call it a season.

With San Francisco starting things on offense, they would open the game by going three and out for the 47th time this season, second in the NFL only to the rival Rams. They would then be taken to school by Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense as they made their initial drive look effortless while taking over near midfield. After marching into the red zone and setting up shop inside the 5-yard line, running back Devonta Freeman would take it into the end zone for his first of three touchdowns on the day as Atlanta recorded their league-leading seventh touchdown-scoring drive on their first possession this season. Looking to answer with a scoring drive of their own, San Francisco appeared to be on track to do just that after a 41-yard kick return by JaCorey Shepherd put the Niners at midfield. Two plays later, however, the 49ers would suffer their one and only turnover of the game. Coming off a career day against the Jets, running back Carlos Hyde would fumble at the 49-yard line, giving Atlanta great field position once again to follow up a performance in which the Falcons recorded a season-high five forced fumbles against the Rams the week before. As for San Francisco, the woes continued as it was their 12th lost fumble of 2016.
Atlanta would add to their lead by scoring touchdowns in each of their next two possessions to give them three straight scoring drives to open the game. While it would be a somewhat of a quiet day for QB Matt Ryan considering what he could've done against the Niners' anemic secondary if he wanted, his touchdown passes to Taylor Gabriel and Austin Hooper would make it a 21-0 ballgame in only the first quarter. The second quarter would be much more kind to the 49ers than the first, as they would score a pair of touchdowns to attempt to make it a ballgame in the first half. Their first score would be on a dart pass to backup tight-end Garrett Celek from 16-yards out. With Atlanta looking to answer back, they would march all the way down the field to the 1-yard line where they would suffer their first turnover by a running back this year (381 carries) as middle linebacker Michael Wilhoite forced and recovered the fumble by Freeman at the goal-line. Unfortunately for San Francisco, the break would only be temporarily as the Niners were unable to do anything with the takeaway and allowed Atlanta to score on their very next possession.

Facing a 28-7 deficit, Niners QB Colin Kaepernick would toss his second touchdown of the quarter just before halftime as he connected with Rod Streater from 5-yards out to make it a 15-point game following a missed point-after by kicker Phil Dawson. The score would be the first for Streater in a 49ers uniform and his first touchdown since 2014. By halftime, Atlanta had totaled 319 first half yards, their most in a first half all season, San Francisco on the other hand would have only 272 yards in total through all four quarters. Facing a large second half deficit, San Francisco would be forced to desert the run game and rely on the arm of Kaepernick who would fail to throw for 200 yards for a third consecutive game, despite completing 20 of 33 pass attempts. With Atlanta producing big play after big play including 10 plays of 20+ yards, something they lead the league in this season, their lead would reach 41-13 after Freeman's third and final touchdown and a pair of Matt Bryant field goals. It would mark the second time this year that the Atlanta offense put up 40 points in a game in back to back weeks and only the third time in team history. As if the blowout loss wasn't painful enough for Chip Kelly's 49ers, Devonta Freeman's 139 yards rushing would mark the 11th time this season that the Niner defense allowed a 100-yard rusher, second most all-time to only the 2008 Detroit Lions.
With two games remaining, the 49ers defense has already allowed the most rushing yards in franchise history at over 2,400 yards and that number continues to climb. With Atlanta looking to stave off division-rival Tampa Bay for the NFC South title, the Falcons improved to 9-5 on the season and were helped by a Bucs loss on Sunday night. The 41-13 loss by San Francisco drops them to 1-13 on the year as their forgetful season continues to pile on.

Week 16 Preview - With the 49ers heading to southern California to renew rivalries with the one and only team they've beaten this season -- the 4-10 Los Angeles Rams, they'll look to repeat the same dominance they accomplished in a Week 1 Monday Night blowout in hopes of pulling off their one and only road win of the season. With the Rams currently on a 5-game losing skid of their own, they'll look to bounce back on Christmas eve at home where they've only won one game all year compared to the three victories they've achieved on the road away from the Coliseum. The Rams are dead last in the NFL with only 21 touchdowns scored all season and the 49ers will look to keep that trend going versus the first overall pick in the 2016 Draft Jared Goff who played his collegiate ball just a stones throw away from San Francisco at Cal Berkeley. It'll be the 49ers first crack at Goff who grew up a 49ers fan and wears the number 16 in honor of the great Joe Montana. If San Francisco can cause trouble for the rookie QB and manage to contain running back Todd Gurley like they did in their Week 1 match-up (47 yards on 17 carries), the 49ers just might return home with an early Christmas present in the form of their second win of the season. Also, with 50 yards on Sunday, Carlos Hyde can become the first 49ers RB to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season since Frank Gore in 2014, but it won't come easy as the Rams still own one of the toughest run defenses in the league despite their struggles.


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