There is no shortage of Atlanta Falcons who deserve blame for a frustrating 20-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. While Jeff Ulbrich's defense put on yet another strong performance, the offense failed to show up yet again. It marked six straight quarters of watching a talented unit labor unable to finish drives with any level of consistency. No question, this loss is firmly on the offensive coaching staff and the performance of a unit that is completely reliant on Bijan Robinson.
While putting the ball consistently in the hands of your best player is wise, there is no denying the frustration that the Falcons have zero counters when Bijan is shut down. This leaves no question of who deserves blame for the loss, starting with the offensive architect who had zero adjustments to offer to help a talented offense.
1. Zac Robinson
As the offensive coordinator, it is quite obviously your role to have a secondary option if the initial plan fails. When it was clear that Bijan wasn't going to be able to run the football consistently, there was zero counter. Tyler Allgeier wasn't utilized despite averaging more yardage in limited carries, and the passing attack was inconsistent. The OC simply had no backup plan, and it resulted in only scoring 10 points for what appeared to be a vanilla attack.
You have two walking mismatches in Drake London and Kyle Pitts, along with great speed from Darnell Mooney and yet there was no identity. This is on the shoulders of the coach, who simply didn't offer any creative options to get a struggling unit rolling.
2. Pass Protection
Another piece of the offensive struggles was the fact that the offensive line allowed Penix to take an absolute beating. The 49ers didn't have the benefit of Fred Warner or Nick Bosa, and still, the offensive line was terrorized, unable to give Penix the needed time. This resulted in a sack fumble that helped turn the game, as well as consistent pressures that forced wild throws and left the quarterback unable to settle in the pocket and make the needed plays.
Again, a big piece of this is on the shoulders of the offensive coordinator, who did nothing to adjust to these issues. However, the offensive line undeniably deserves blame as well for consistently failing to give their quarterback the needed time or to better set up the run game.
3. Michael Penix Jr.
Atlanta's quarterback appeared shaken by the pressure and was unable to make plays when the game mattered most. It is a reversal of what Atlanta watched in the first three games of Penix's career, with the signal caller having a flair for the dramatic forcing back-to-back overtimes. However, there was no hint of this in the Week 7 performance.
A defense that was abused by Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Bucs a week before appeared to be one of the league's best. While Robert Saleh deserves credit, there simply is no excuse for how this game ended. Penix was rattled and made poor decisions, missing open targets and appearing completely out of sorts. Leaving no question that the quarterback deserves blame as well for the Falcons' third loss of the season.