It wasn’t perfect, but the San Francisco 49ers grabbed a 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium.
Lack of perfection is probably going to define the 49ers’ season as they try to overcome injuries to some of their best players, but Sunday’s showing was more evidence that despite their various health-related calamities the 49ers are a team to be reckoned with in the NFC. At 5-2, they remain atop the NFC West and in third place overall in the conference.
Here are eight takeaways from the 49ers’ fifth win of the season:
49ers get vintage Christian McCaffrey game
It took seven weeks, but McCaffrey finally looked like himself again. The 49ers’ superstar running back was explosive, forced some missed tackles, and led the offense in just about every category. He was their leading rusher with a season-high 129 yards. He also scored their only two touchdowns, and he led the club with seven receptions and 72 receiving yards. McCaffrey has been helping the 49ers keep their heads above water all year, but Sunday night he helped them look more like a sustainable offense than one simply piecing together enough plays to win.
George Kittle’s return makes major impact
It’s impossible to overstate how much Kittle being back helped the 49ers’ run game. Kittle had no catches, but this stat from Next Gen Stats tells the entire story of what Kittle means to San Francisco’s offense.
Mac Jones’s two big throws shine on slow night
With the ground game working, the 49ers didn’t need much from their backup QB. Jones went 17-of-26 for 152 yards and one interception. The turnover came off a tipped pass from WR Jauan Jennings who probably should’ve made the catch. However, Jones had two crucial plays Sunday night. The first one came before the 49ers’ first touchdown in the second quarter. On a third-and-4, Jones was pressured and rolled left before flipping a throw over the top of four defenders to McCaffrey who was taken down at the 1-yard line. McCaffrey scored on the next play.
Later in the red zone Jones found McCaffrey on a third-and-13 where the running back slipped in behind a linebacker and in front of a defensive back to haul in Jones’s throw at the 4-yard line. McCaffrey scored one play later.
Those two third-down conversions were big-time plays from the backup QB on a night where they offense didn’t ask him to carry the load.
Fred Warner’s replacement Tatum Bethune steps up
Bethune, a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, looked ready for a tough matchup against Atlanta. He was all over the field for the 49ers and led the way with 10 tackles. He also had a quarterback pressure on the Falcons’ final drive. Bethune briefly left the game in the first quarter and was mum on the issue after the game while speaking with NBC reporter Melissa Starks. It wasn’t perfect from Bethune, who got out of position a couple of times, but it was an impressive outing nonetheless that gives some hope for the 49ers defense even without Warner in the middle of the front seven.
49ers CB Chase Lucas has another massive play
Lucas was a preseason star for San Francisco after spending last year on their practice squad. His play was enough to earn a roster spot, and having him has helped the 49ers secure two wins this season. He was the first player in the mix to stop Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams on the game-ending fourth-down play at SoFi Stadium. Then Sunday night with 8:20 to go he broke up a fourth-and-1 pass intended for Falcons WR Drake London. The 49ers took over at their own 35 and went 65 yards to score the game-winning touchdown. If Lucas doesn’t come up with a pass breakup on that fourth down, Sunday’s game may have gone very different for San Francisco.
Bryce Huff takes over
The 49ers have struggled to find its pass rush with no Nick Bosa on the field. Huff answered the call Sunday night with two quarterback hits, 1.0 sacks, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. He was a nightmare for the Falcons offensive line on Atlanta’s final drive. They threw multiple blockers at him and tried leaving him one-on-one and he was in the backfield on virtually every snap. San Francisco’s defense still needs a more consistent pass rush, but being able to get home in obvious passing situations is a good start.
Eddy Pineiro stays perfect
Pineiro connected on both of his field goal tries, one from 55 yards out and another from 43 yards out, to bring his total with the 49ers to a perfect 17-for-17. This is the kicker Kyle Shanahan has been waiting for.
49ers depth chart at safety gets a shuffle
It appears the 49ers are having an in-season competition at safety. Rookie Marques Sigle and Ji’Ayir Brown started at the two safety spots. Jason Pinnock, who opened the season as a starter, also got some run. Malik Mustapha saw action as well as the club tries to figure out its best pairing in the back end of the secondary. More importantly, finding the top pairing in the back of the secondary frees up other players on the depth chart to work as chess pieces in potential wrinkles from defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
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