49ers @ Falcons: The Horse Before the Cart

The 49ers won against Washington on Monday night, but not without a couple shivers. The Commanders put them against a wall in the second half of the game that the 49ers couldn’t get off of. They did a really good job containing Daniels in the extension of plays, and for the most part, on defense as a whole. But up 23-3 in the middle of the 3^rd quarter, San Francisco started to let Washington back into the game. The 49ers couldn’t get off the field on defense and couldn’t sustain a drive on offense in the 4^th quarter. And then the Commanders answered. Overall, a win is a win, so I’m knit picking here, but at the end of the day, the 49ers are too good to let this game get close. A bump in the road for this 6-0 team, and when your bumps consist of victories, you’re already on the right path.

         The Falcons kind of let me down this week. They were down 31-7 midway in the 4^th quarter and put together two TD drives to keep themselves within one score of the Bears. Unfortunately, the potential comeback was halted by a strip sack on Michael Penix Jr., which ended the game. Penix Jr. had a great game, finishing with 225 yards and 3 TDs. Surprisingly, Bijan Robinson was held in check for just 61 yards on 9 carries. The Falcons got into the game too late, and while an unforced error caused the game to end, they can’t be trying to win games that behind in the 4^th quarter. The Falcons recipe for victory is to go up early, and let your decent defense take over. Even if it doesn’t, Penix Jr. has shown he’s capable to keep scoring with the weapons on this Atlanta team. It’s just a shame they had 1 drive that resulted in points out of 5 total drives in the first half of the game. I like the 49ers in this matchup, but the Falcons have been known to make team shake when they are on their game. Let’s see which Atlanta team shows up this Sunday.