Sunday Night Football features Atlanta, San Francisco

Atlanta had been gashed on the ground to start this game, allowing 7.0 yards per rush, but their excellent pass defense all season comes to the rescue and intercepts Mac Jones in the second quarter. Linebacker Kaden Elliss caught a tipped pass.

The Falcons score first, turning a long and winding 19-play drive lasting 10:40 into a 38-yard field goal. They lead, 3-0, with 12:54 to play in the second quarter.

A no-scoring first quarter, as the teams are knotted at zero after 15 minutes.

The Falcons are slowly but surely moving the ball down the field right now. They are in the midst of a 15-play, 58-yard drive and will have a first down from the San Francisco 22 when the second quarter begins.

Atlanta’s second drive continues after a conversion on third-and-1 from San Francisco’s 24-yard line after facing as long as second-and-18. Since going three-and-out on their opening drive, the Falcons are 3-for-3 on third down on this drive.

Tight end Kyle Pitts was the highest-drafted player at his position in NFL history but has dealt with inconsistency during his previous four seasons. He entered tonight with 23 catches and has added three more — one, for 27 yards, was called back on a penalty — on Atlanta’s second drive to help the Falcons near field-goal range.

San Francisco eschewed a 60-yard field goal attempt and punted back to the Falcons at the end of its first drive.

A promising sign for the 49ers offense, though? They ran for 27 yards on only four carries on their opening drive. San Francisco entered this game ranked 29th in the NFL in rushing yards per game.

Mac Jones is making his fifth start of the season tonight.

He’s 3-1 with six touchdowns and three interceptions so far this year. His 93.7 passer rating is a career-high mark.

Atlanta has scored on 37 percent of its drives this season, which ranks 21st in the league, and that inconsistency showed itself on the game’s first possession, which ended with a three-and-out punt. Raheem Morris didn’t want to go for a short fourth-down attempt on his side of the field.

…And “Sunday Night Football” is underway! Atlanta will begin its first possession from its own 23-yard line.

The Los Angeles Rams won the day’s first game, in London, to improve to 5-2 overall. But the Rams are just 0-1 in the division, after a loss to the 49ers earlier this season. A win tonight by San Francisco would also improve it to 5-2, but the 49ers are already 3-0 against the NFC West. Seattle, which doesn’t play until Monday, also can improve to 5-2 this week.

Atlanta will need a third consecutive good game from quarterback Michael Penix. The 49ers have allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete 66 percent of their passes, around the middle of the pack defensively.

Tight end George Kittle (hamstring) is active tonight after being sidelined since Week 1.

In an exclusive interview, Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson tells Rodney Harrison what it’s like to play for head coach Raheem Morris and play with quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

Atlanta hasn’t played in the postseason since 2017, a seven-season playoff drought that ties with Carolina for second longest in the league, eclipsed only by the Jets’ 14-year drought.

Atlanta went 8-9 last season in Raheem Morris’ first season as coach.

“There is no secret,” Morris said after an upset win over Buffalo in Week 6. “We want to be a playoff organization. We want to be able to go compete in those types of games, and we played one tonight, and there’s going to be no secret. Nobody is going to shy away from those moments.”

The 49ers officially ruled out quarterback Brock Purdy (toe) and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee).

Mac Jones is set to make his fifth start for Purdy.

He was limited in Wednesday’s practice with knee and oblique injuries before returning to full participation on the final two practices of the week. Jones does not have an injury designation.

Jones will have tight end George Kittle, who has no injury designation after working his way back from a hamstring injury. The 49ers will activate him from injured reserve on Saturday. Defensive tackle Kevin Givens (pectoral) also could be cleared to return from injured reserve.

Read the full story here.

The Falcons picked up a big win over the Bills on Monday night in Week 6 and running back Bijan Robinson did a lot of work to get them that 24-14 victory.

Robinson ran 19 times for 170 yards, including an 81-yard touchdown in the second quarter that pushed Atlanta’s lead to 14 points at halftime. Robinson also caught six passes for 68 yards in his most productive day so far this season.

The NFL named Robinson the NFC offensive player of the week in recognition of that effort. It’s the first time that Robinson has ever taken that prize.

Read the full story here.

Since Kyle Shanahan took over as coach in San Francisco in 2017, his team has always performed better in odd-year seasons. In 2019, 2021 and 2023, the 49ers advanced to two Super Bowls — losing each time — and another conference title game. In 2020 and 2024, however they missed the playoffs entirely. (It hasn’t been all bad in even years; in 2022, they also made the conference title game.)

This year, despite a litany of injuries, the 49ers entered this week tied atop the NFC West with a 4-2 record.

Falcons wide receiver Drake London has benefited from quarterback Michael Penix Jr.’s increased production over the last two weeks. London has back-to-back games of 100-plus receiving yards with a touchdown. He is coming off a 10-catch, 158-yard outing in a Week 6 win against Buffalo. Only two other receivers this season, Ja’Marr Chase and Puka Nacua, have produced a game with 10-plus catches and 150-plus yards.

Entering this week’s games, only two teams had yet to intercept a single pass — the winless New York Jets and the 49ers.

Unlike the Jets, who have just one forced turnover all season, the fewest in the league, the 49ers have had success forcing fumbles, with five. Atlanta, meanwhile, has intercepted five passes and forced three fumbles.

Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson sits down with Rodney Harrison to share running backs he looked up to growing up, training with Christian McCaffrey, playing with Michael Penix Jr. and much more.

Both San Francisco’s and Atlanta’s offenses hinge on the production of running backs. Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris has called Bijan Robinson “the best player in football,” while the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey has in the past been an MVP candidate. The similarities between their shifty games owe partly to the fact that Robinson and McCaffrey spent time working out together during the last offseason.

“He taught me a whole bunch of nuanced moves that I got to learn on the field, and I did the same with him,” Robinson said. “I think it’s just really cool having McCaffrey be a brother to me, as well, and so I can learn all the cool things that he has done on the field, and vice versa.”

This will be a fascinating showdown between an Atlanta defense that allows the fewest passing yards and a San Francisco offense that throws for the most yards.

49ers quarterback Mac Jones could expect heavy pressure. The Falcons have blitzed on 49% of opponents’ dropbacks, which is 10 percentage points higher than the next-closest defense, according to Next Gen Stats.

Jim Brown holds the NFL record for most yards from scrimmage gained through the first five games of a season — 988, in 1963. It’s rare when any player even comes close.

Yet this season, Christian McCaffrey of San Francisco gained 866 yards through five games, second most all-time, and Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson gained 822, sixth most.

Last season, Atlanta produced only 31 sacks, the second fewest in the NFL. Not even halfway through this season, however, the Falcons already have 14.

Leonard Floyd, an offseason signing from San Francisco, has contributed 1½ sacks. Rookies Jalon Walker, James Pearce Jr. and Billy Bowman Jr., who were all drafted within the first four rounds last spring, have combined for two sacks.

Jac Collinsworth, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison preview the Atlanta Falcons’ NFC showdown with the San Francisco 49ers on the road.

Falcons running back Bijan Robinson has averaged 9.1 yards per touch in his last two games and has produced 100 or more yards from scrimmage in every game this season. If he were to continue on his current pace, Robinson would finish with 2,794 yards from scrimmage, the most in NFL history. (The record holder, Chris Johnson, gained 2,509 in 2009.)

Robinson joins Buffalo’s Thurman Thomas, in 1991, as the only other player in NFL history to gain at least 450 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards through the first five games of a season.

A key to beating Buffalo last week was the play of Atlanta’s defense, which sits atop many statistical categories nearly halfway through the season.

Under first-year coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, Atlanta has yet to allow an opponent more than 300 yards. In fact, the 1,267 yards the Falcons have allowed are the franchise’s fewest in any five-game span since 1998.

Their 253-yards-against average leads the NFL, as does the 139 passing yards they’ve allowed on average. The Falcons have also been excellent on third down, allowing conversions just 32% of the time, which ranks fourth best. Keep this up and they’ll make history; Atlanta hasn’t produced a top five defense in total yards since 1978.

The “Sunday Night Football” showdown between the Falcons and 49ers should be a great game, as Atlanta looks to build off a win against Buffalo, and Mike Florio and Chris Simms like them to keep things rolling vs. San Fran.

With starter Brock Purdy out, San Francisco plugged in quarterback Mac Jones to great success. He has thrown for six touchdowns against three interceptions and an NFL-best 313 yards per game as an understudy. From passer rating to completion percentage, Jones’ statistics have been better than Purdy’s. There is no quarterback competition, however, once Purdy returns from injury, general manager John Lynch said last week.

Help is on the way for the 49ers.

The team announced it has activated tight end George Kittle and defensive lineman Kevin Givens from injured reserve back to the active roster. Both will be available against the Falcons on “Sunday Night Football.”

Kittle tore his right hamstring in the second quarter of the Sept. 7 season opener. He made four catches for 25 yards and a touchdown before leaving.

Givens has not played this season after injuring a pectoral muscle in August.

Read the full article here.

Wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud will not be playing for the Falcons this weekend and it’s unclear if he’s going to be playing for them at any point in the future.

McCloud was a healthy scratch for last Monday’s win over the Bills and he did not practice at all this week. The Falcons cited a non-injury reason for his absence and head coach Raheem Morris said on Monday that McCloud was excused as the team tries to work through some issues with him.

Read the full article here.

Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., a first-round pick in 2024, did not have a seamless start to his career, with a 2-4 record with four touchdowns and five interceptions in his first six games, dating to last season.

In his last two, however, he has thrown three touchdowns against one interception, and his completion percentage has risen by 11 percentage points. That includes a win over Buffalo, a preseason favorite to win the Super Bowl, in which he threw for 250 yards without a turnover.

“This team is really legit,” Penix said after the win.

With “a lot of positives” for a rising Falcons’ offense against a 49ers defense without several key players, Drew Dinsick and Jay Croucher think there’s plenty of reason to bet on Atlanta.

Fred Warner’s season-ending dislocated ankle last week would have been a devastating injury to San Francisco all by itself; Warner has been named a first-team All-Pro linebacker four of the past five seasons.

“Devastating,” receiver Jauan Jennings said.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, Warner’s was just the latest in a string of injuries dating to last season that have derailed their Super Bowl ambitions.

• QB Brock Purdy (shoulder, missed four of six games)
• WR Brandon Aiyuk (knee, yet to play)
• WR Ricky Pearsall (knee, missed last two games)
• TE George Kittle (hamstring, missed five games)
• DL Nick Bosa (ACL, season-ending)