The Atlanta Falcons were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers, 20-10, in a Sunday night game at Levi’s Stadium during Week 7 of the NFL season. The match was attended by 71,217 fans.
One highlight for Atlanta was a lengthy second possession drive that lasted 19 plays and took 10 minutes and 40 seconds off the clock, marking the team’s longest drive since 1994. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. recorded 241 passing yards, bringing his total to 2,184 yards through nine starts—the most by any Falcons quarterback in that span.
Wide receiver Darnell Mooney returned from injury to lead the team with 68 receiving yards on three catches, averaging over 22 yards per reception. Running back Bijan Robinson accumulated a combined 92 rushing and receiving yards but did not surpass the 100-yard mark for the first time this season. He continues a streak of at least 90 scrimmage yards in twelve consecutive games, which is currently the longest active run in the NFL.
Inside linebacker JD Bertrand stepped up after Divine Deablo left with an injury, matching safety Jessie Bates III and San Francisco’s Tatum Bethune with a game-high ten tackles—double his previous personal best.
The Falcons won the opening coin toss but went three-and-out on their first drive for the first time this season. The offense has scored only one touchdown in its last six quarters; Robinson caught a ten-yard pass from Penix in Week 7’s third quarter.
Next Gen Stats indicated Penix failed to complete any of his nine passes when under pressure from San Francisco defenders—the highest number of such attempts without a completion since 2023. Without pressure, he completed 21 out of 29 attempts.
Atlanta’s defense allowed more than 300 total offensive yards for the first time this year as San Francisco finished with 324 net yards.
Head coach Raheem Morris commented on the loss: “Some missed opportunities out there. We have to do a better job coaching. We have to do a better job playing. Ultimately, those things fall on us and we’ll get them fixed.” Addressing an incident where only ten players were on the field during a crucial play, he said: “There absolutely was, and it’s absolutely embarrassing, and it’s my fault. I’ll get it fixed.”
JD Bertrand reflected on filling in for Deablo: “I think it’s a God whisper or something. For some reason, I thought I was gonna play. I kept on just telling myself, ‘I know that opportunity is gonna come.’ So, I felt like I was prepared.”
Left tackle Jake Matthews played through injury for his 184th consecutive start: “I gotta be out there, man.” Robinson addressed his performance: “I got a lot of work to do. All that ‘best player in the NFL,’ that stuff is dead. It’s always been. I don’t listen to stuff like that. For me, I got to be the best player for this team.”
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke about limiting Robinson’s effectiveness: “Huge team thing. I mean, he is as good as there is… If that guy gets too much space, it’s just hard to touch him.” Shanahan also emphasized their overall strategy: “We thought we had to win that game a certain way… In order to do that, you’ve got to play defense like we did tonight…”
49ers tight end George Kittle praised his team’s defensive effort: “The defense was so much fun to watch today because they were just flying around…”
Top individual performers included Penix Jr., who threw for one touchdown; Christian McCaffrey rushed for two touchdowns and gained over 120 yards; Mooney led Falcons receivers; and several players tied for top tackles.
The Falcons (3-3) will next host the Miami Dolphins (1-5) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m., airing on CBS. The Dolphins are coming off their own narrow loss against Los Angeles Chargers.
