Atlanta Falcons Look to Bounce Back at 49ers

The Atlanta Falcons will play the San Francisco 49ers at 4:05 PM ET this afternoon. Atlanta is a 7-point road favorite, hoping to get to 7-2 before the bye.

The Atlanta Falcons look to get back in the win column in Week 9, after falling to divisional rival Tampa Bay at home in overtime in Week 8, 23-20. Atlanta turned the football over four times on offense, but managed to play well down the stretch to force overtime in their own building.

However, the loss isn’t sitting well with Atlanta Falcons’ fans. Atlanta has rarely lost at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Matt Ryan Era (5-3 vs. Tampa since 2008). The Falcons are 6-2, but both of their losses have come in the NFC South, with two games remaining against the undefeated Carolina Panthers. In fact, four of the last five games the Atlanta Falcons will play this year are NFC South games.

Fortunately, the Atlanta Falcons won’t play an NFC South game for over a month, as they have three games out of the division and a Week 10 Bye before then. The next game on the schedule is against the 2-6 San Francisco 49ers, a team that just benched their starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick in favor of former Jacksonville Jaguars bust Blaine Gabbert.

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Kaepernick is not moving the ball consistently enough with the struggling 49ers to have a firm grip on the starting gig. Enter Blaine Gabbert against an improved Atlanta Falcons’ defense under HC Dan Quinn. Though the pass rush is 30th in the NFL, the run defense is 3rd in yards allowed and the unit is 11th overall entering Week 9’s road date with the Niners.

The Atlanta Falcons will plan to run the football with authority against the 28th rated run defense. Devonta Freeman missed the century mark on the ground last week for only the second time since assuming the starting running back role in Week 3. San Francisco gives up 123.75 yards on the ground per game. Expect Freeman to have a field day if OC Kyle Shanahan chooses to pound the rock with his emerging star at tailback.

This game is occurring at that time of the year where injuries are certainly playing a part of it. The Atlanta Falcons will not have CB Robert Alford, SS William Moore, OLB Justin Durant, and WR Leonard Hankerson. San Francisco won’t have either RB Carlos Hyde or Mike Davis. Veteran WR Anquan Boldin is doubtful. The 49ers have also traded former Pro Bowl TE Vernon Davis to the Denver Broncos.

So do these injuries drastically affect the game? Potentially. The Atlanta Falcons seem very shorthanded on defense and will have to get more out of players like CB Jalen Collins and CB Phillip Adams, among others. San Francisco won’t have a running game for new starter Blaine Gabbert, so that could become problematic for 49ers OC Geep Chryst.

For the Atlanta Falcons to get a road victory against their former NFC West rival, they will have to do three things well: 1. Win the turnover battle. 2. Move the chains on the ground. 3. Get pressure on Blaine Gabbert from their pass rush.

Atlanta nearly overcame a four turnover deficit against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. Though they could win with a two-turnover deficit to a struggling 49ers team, persistent fumbles and picks from the Atlanta Falcons will keep the Niners in the game longer than they should.