Good and dangerous from San Francisco win
Sunday’s win over the Falcons was interesting for the 49ers when it came to who was good for San Francisco and who wasn’t. The final score of 31-13 doesn’t quite show how dominant the home team were at Levi’s Stadium.
Good performances in a romp like this are easy to find. The bad trips tend to be more difficult to analyze. However, a few things really stood out that didn’t go well for San Francisco on Sunday.
Here’s the good and the bad of week 15:
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Garoppolo didn’t have his best statistic on Sunday with 18 completions in 23 tries for 235 yards and one touchdown. However, it was better than that line. There weren’t many, if any, really bad litters from Garoppolo and he didn’t turn over. This was mainly a high level game from the 49ers’ QB.
(AP Photo / Tony Avelar)
A fumble from JaMycal Hasty at the opening kickoff set things in the wrong direction for the specialty teams of the 49ers. It didn’t get much better for her from then on. Hasty mistreated another kickoff and the coverage units gave up a couple of long kick returns and one long punt return. This problem has plagued the 49ers for the past few weeks and they have to hold their own against better clubs.
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Falcon’s QB Matt Ryan was fired three times, but he was under duress for virtually the entire game. He had time to take a few deep punches, but otherwise he kept moving from his seat and spending time dodging a 49ers rush that had gotten really strong by the end of the year. DE Arden Key’s advent as a viable pass rusher was a revelation for the 49ers’ defensive front. He was very good again on Sunday, along with DE Nick Bosa, who was fired for season 15 and forced a fumble.
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Thomas gave up a couple of big games, including a touchdown, which falls him into the “bad” category. However, he was significantly better than against the Bengals and he managed not to be flared for hands in the face. Thomas just missed making a couple of big pass breaks that instead aimed for long wins. It wasn’t a good game, but Thomas is going in the right direction.
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Wilson got off to a sluggish start to 2021 when he returned from a meniscus tear, but he looked like his no-brainer on Sunday as he stormed 110 yards and a touchdown at 21 carries. His longest run was only 17 yards. Wilson put down the Falcons defenses with his tough running style, but he found some good cut marks and came to the edge a couple of times. Having another effective RB in the mix would be enormous for a 49ers team in need of help at this point on the track.
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Admittedly, that’s a minor nitpick. Atlanta didn’t do much right on Sunday, but they did manage to convert on five of their 13 third downs. Not that 5 for 13 was anything special, but the 49ers allowed Atlanta to extend too many trips that went deep into the San Francisco Territory. Defense has stiffened in the red zone as Atlanta went 0v3 in that area, but getting better teams dancing in the red is a great way to lose a game.
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Warner was supposed to be key to the 49ers’ defensive endeavors, and he came up with the team’s top nine tackles that came with a QB hit, pass resolution, and fumble recovery. Keeping Patterson at bay was the biggest key for Sunday’s 49ers, and Warner’s game was a big reason the star running back only got 23 yards in 13 touches after removing an average of nearly 90 yards per game.
