That was a heartbreaker. The 49ers never got started Sunday at Levi’s Stadium and fell to the Falcons 29-22 in a game they had to have.
Here’s our notes and observations from throughout the game:
– Marcell Harris made a really strong tackle on the Falcons’ second play of the game. That’s good to see from him after a rough game in New Orleans.
– DJ Reed is in for K’Waun Williams and got called for holding on the Falcons’ first third down. Not a good start for the second-year DB. Julio Jones went down awkwardly, but only missed a couple plays.
– Harris again. He broke up a third-and-4 throw for tight end Austin Hooper. That’s a great first series for him.
– Joe Staley got beat bad by Vic Beasley for a sack on the 49ers’ first series. Beasley got inside the left tackle and there was no help.
– The 49ers’ first offensive series ended with a thud when Jimmy Garoppolo sailed a throw over Tevin Coleman’s head in the flat. That was a pretty atrocious first series for San Francisco’s offense.
– Dre Greenlaw made a great read on a Matt Ryan throw to Julio Jones. He undercut the pass but couldn’t corral it for an interception. Still a terrific play from the rookie to bring up a third down.
– Ryan can’t get comfortable inside a collapsing pocket. He’s missing some throws because he can’t step in. It happened on a third down on the Falcons’ second series and they had to punt.
– Garoppolo’s first completion is an easy throw to Sanders on a play action roll out for five yards on a second-and-6.
– Raheem Mostert is so good. He had a huge tackle in punt coverage, and his second carry went for seven yards. He’s gone for 11 on two carries.
– Matt Breida is in now and racks up nine yards on his first touch. That Mostert-Breida duo is special.
– The 49ers go for it on a fourth-and-1 from the Falcons’ 36-yard-line and Garoppolo completes it to George Kittle for five and a first down. Shanahan called a run up the middle on third-and-3 knowing they’d go for it on fourth down. That’s a really good sequence from the 49ers’ head coach.
– Garoppolo nearly threw an interception on a slant to Samuel. It was tight coverage and he threw a bad ball. The 49ers got bailed out on a third-and-19 on the ensuing play when Adrian Clayborn got hit with a roughing the passer penalty for hitting Garoppolo at the knees. That was scary because Clayborn hit Garoppolo low and Vic Beasley hit him high.
– Mostert plowed his way in for a two-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. It capped an incredible 21-play, 88-yard drive that at 10:43 of game clock.
– Emmanuel Moseley had tight coverage on Julio Jones, but Jones went up and got it on a third-and-4 for a gain of 28. San Francisco challenged the catch to no avail. Jones is a remarkable player.
– Arik Armstead has made a couple standout plays in the second quarter. He crashed through two blockers to blow up the pocket on one play. Later in the series he flew down the line to stop a run for no gain. Armstead is going to get paid this offseason.
– Touchdown Falcons. Easy pitch and catch from Ryan to Jones. Moseley is getting torched by the All-Pro. 7-7 halfway through the second quarter.
– Not what the 49ers needed on offense. A handoff to Breida for five, then two incompletions and a punt. Garoppolo badly missed Sanders across the middle on second down. Then he threw a deep out short to Kendrick Bourne who couldn’t haul it in.
– The Falcons are having their way on offense. Nine yards to TE Luke Stocker. A 16-yard rush by Brian Hill. A four-yard rush by Matt Ryan. An eight-yard pass to Jones. It’s easy for Atlanta.
– A ton of pressure by the 49ers defensive line forces an incompletion on third-and-7 from the 49ers’ 25. That’s going to be the only way they force incompletions if they keep guarding Julio Jones one-on-one. A Falcons field goal makes it 10-7, Atlanta.
– There’s Tevin Coleman. He went for 37 yards on second-and-10 after the field goal. Garoppolo started the drive by throwing one away after nobody got open.
– Now Garoppolo hits Kittle for 20 down to the Falcons’ 23-yard-line. That was his best throw of the day. He followed it with a 16-yard strike to Kittle. This is a huge drive for San Francisco.
– Ugly end to the series. Kittle had to knock the throw away from Blidi Wreh-Wilson on third-and-4. Garoppolo is not good on those fades to the corner. A Robbie Gould field goal tied the game at 10 with 24 seconds left in the half.
– Wow. A surprise onside kick for the Falcons to start the second half. They recovered, but lined up illegally and had to re-kick. That’s a huge break for the 49ers.
– Richie James Jr. had a nice return out to the 49ers’ 31 to give them good field position to start the half. They desperately need a good drive and points here.
– Garoppolo did an incredible job pinballing off tacklers to escape a sack and ran ahead for a gain of three. He’s very good moving around the pocket and avoiding sacks.
– Incomplete to Kittle on third-and-5 and the 49ers punt. A huge return by Kenjon Barner was nullified by an illegal block in the back. This game has been bordering on disaster for San Francisco.
– The 49ers finally sacked Matt Ryan. Sheldon Day blew up the middle and wrapped him up for a loss of seven. It feels like that won’t be the last sack for them.
– Another lucky break for the 49ers. Garoppolo got sacked, but a flag came out for a low hit on the quarterback.
– The 49ers settled for a 46-yard field goal to take a 13-10 lead. Garoppolo can’t find anyone open not named Kittle. He’s 10-of-13 targeting the tight end, and 3-of-9 throwing at everyone else.
– Nick Bosa got credited for a sack when Ryan stepped up through the collapsing pocket. That’s No. 9 for him this season. He nearly got another the following play when he ran a stunt around the right tackle. That was nasty.
– Kittle is all over the place. The 49ers got down to the Atlanta 48 thanks to a big run-and-catch from him. Matt Breida fumbled though and the Falcons recovered. Turnovers are not good against a bad team that’s hanging around in a game.
– Another 49ers miscue. Matt Ryan floated a pass to the middle of the field that Fred Warner and DJ Reed both got hands on, but neither caught it. Atlanta had to punt, but the field position would’ve been much better had Warner pulled down the pick.
– Deebo Samuel’s first target of the day hit him in the numbers and he dropped it. That’s not a good look for the rookie after a very strong stretch of games.
– Kendrick Bourne followed Samuel’s drop with an 11-yard reception on third-and-6. He’s money on third downs.
– Wow. Huge. On a 49ers punt, Kenjon Barner got walloped by Ross Dwelley and had the ball jarred loose. Kyle Juszczyk picked up the fumble and ran it down to the Falcons’ 1-yard-line. That’s the play San Francisco’s needed all day.
– Juszczyk gets in the end zone after getting stymied on a first-down carry. Garoppolo rolled right on second down and found the fullback wide open for six and a 19-10 49ers lead. Robbie Gould missed the extra point. Yikes.
– It’s good the 49ers got that touchdown because the Falcons are cruising on offense. Ryan is carving up a banged up 49ers secondary with quick throws out to the boundaries. It’s not letting the 49ers’ pass rush get home.
– Jimmie Ward got flagged for pass interference on Julio Jones on a deep shot to the end zone. It’s a 32-yard penalty. That’s a backbreaker for the 49ers.
– The Falcons scored one play later. This game isn’t over yet. 19-17, 49ers lead.
– The 49ers take over with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter leading by 2. They need a long drive to seal this one.
– They open the series with a short throw to Juszcyzk for four yards. Garoppolo had all day to throw, but the receivers aren’t getting open.
– Mostert picked up a first down when he plowed ahead for four or five extra yards after contact. Garoppolo followed with an incomplete pass to Sanders who was covered by three Falcons.
– There’s Deebo. He held on to a short throw off jet motion and went for 29 yards down to the Falcons’ 34-yard-line. That’s a huge play to get San Francisco into something resembling field goal range.
– And there’s Sanders. Garoppolo did a great job escaping the pocket and rolled left to fire a throw in to Sanders who peeled off his route. He picked up four yards on the catch.
– Kittle fumbled on a screen out to the right on a third-and-4. It looked like he had the first down but the ball popped out of his hands and he had to dive on it short of the first-down marker. Gould converted with a 22-yard field goal to make it 22-17.
– It’s gut-check time for the 49ers’ defense. The Falcons will take over at their own 30 with 1:48 left and one timeout.
– The Falcons went empty on first-and-10 and Arik Armstead batted Ryan’s pass down. Going empty against this 49ers rush is interesting. It takes away the threat of the run and takes away an additional blocker.
– Devonta Freeman makes a 13-yard catch. Justin Gage followed it with a gain of 8. The pass rush is breaking down the pocket but they can’t get to Ryan.
– Big gain to Jones over the middle. It’s 25 yards to the 49ers’ 25, then Matt Ryan scrambled for 9 to San Francisco’s 16. There’s 34 seconds left. The 49ers are really feeling the effects of the injuries to their defense.
– Heck of a defensive play by Marcell Harris on second-and-1 to knock a touchdown away from Austin Hooper. Now they’re at the 5 on a completion to Jones.
– Four seconds left. Ryan hit Hooper for what looked like a game-winner, but the officials ruled the ball hit the ground. Credit to Harris for affecting that play and jarring the ball free.
– Instead it’s Julio Jones. The play was initially ruled not a touchdown, but they reviewed it and said he broke the plane. Falcons win. Yikes.