After an emotional Week 6 loss to Tampa Bay, the San Francisco 49ers returned to their winning ways with a 20-10 win on Sunday Night Football over the Atlanta Falcons.
The win moves the 49ers to 5-2 in what was their most impressive win on the season so far. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh had his best game of the season, despite being without Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and Upton Stout while losing Renardo Green during the action on Sunday.
Each backup at those positions played well, with Bryce Huff, Tatum Bethune, Chase Lucas, and Darrell Luter stepping up and each having moments in this game. But it’s the first two on that list that played well enough to earn a star in Sunday’s win:
Third star: LB Tatum Bethune
It felt like any time Bethune was involved in a play, NBC would mention that the second-year linebacker was replacing Fred Warner. With some mighty big shoes to fill, Bethune’s first go as Warner’s replacement was solid.
Bethune didn’t have any plays that stood out, but he finished with a team-high 10 total tackles, with four being solo tackles. He started his day off well enough, making his first tackle of the game by meeting Bijan Robinson at the line of scrimmage for no gain.
The linebacker’s most impactful play of the game came in the fourth quarter when again, he stopped Robinson, but this time for a loss of two yards, resulting in Bethune’s lone tackle for loss. Bethune also had a sack on the Falcons’ final drive of the game, only for it to be wiped out by a Deommodore Lenoir illegal contact.
Outside of that, it was a solid day at the office for Bethune, with nothing necessarily standing out. But that’s precisely what the 49ers need from the linebacker: solid, mistake-free football. Any big plays he makes can be seen as extra. With the performance on Sunday night, Bethune is one-for-one in his role of replacing the best linebacker in football, and that’s enough to earn Sunday’s third star.
Second star: DE Bryce Huff
The 49ers’ pass rush has struggled since Nick Bosa, recording only two sacks in the three games since Bosa went down in Week 3.
Behind Huff’s lead, San Francisco finished Sunday with two sacks, their first multi-sack game since Week 2 in New Orleans. Sam Okuayinonu opened the scorebook for the defensive line, getting to Michael Penix on a third down to hold a 19-play Falcons drive to just three points. That’s when Huff took over with a pair of plays that changed how the first half would end.
Atlanta would get the ball back with 1:42 left in the second quarter after the 49ers scored their first touchdown of the game to go up 7-3. The Falcons’ offense had a chance to match and take the lead going into the half and had a promising start to the drive with a pair of passes moving the ball near midfield. That’s when Huff would strike.
Huff would use a great jump off the snap to blow past Falcons’ right tackle Elijah Wilinson, earning a free run at Penix. The defensive end would hit and knock the ball free from the quarterback, with Alfred Collins recovering the loose ball, setting up the offense near field goal range. San Francisco would cash in with three points to extend their lead to seven points.
With a second chance to get points before the half, Atlanta would again move the ball downfield, working their way into field goal position as the clock wound down towards the half. Penix would drop back with 17 seconds in the half at the 49ers’ 22-yard line, but Okuayinonu would move the left side of the Falcons’ offensive line to allow Huff to come from behind free towards Penix, forcing the second-year to panic and throw the ball away.
Unfortunately for Penix, he hadn’t left the pocket yet, drawing a flag for intentional grounding. Double unfortunately, the ball didn’t hit the ground out of bounds until there were ten seconds left on the clock, forcing the ten-second run off to end the half.
Two chances for Atlanta to score before the half, and two drives ended at the hand of Bryce Huff. In what was the pass rush’s best performance post-Bosa, Huff was the leader, earning him the second star on Sunday night.
First star: RB Christian McCaffrey
The 49ers’ run game was back in a big way on Sunday night. Maybe it was the return of George Kittle. Maybe it was facing Atlanta’s subpar run defense. Christian McCaffrey was the beneficiary either way.
Entering Week 7, McCaffrey’s season high in rushing yards was 69 back in Week 1 against Seattle. McCaffrey had set a new season high by the midway point of the second quarter, finishing the night with 129 rushing yards, his first 100-yard rushing game since Week 16 of the 2023 season.
The explosiveness we’ve grown accustomed to with McCaffrey hasn’t quite been there yet this season. Entering Week 7, McCaffrey had seven rushes of ten or more yards. On Sunday night, McCaffrey had seven rushes of 10 or more yards alone, gashing the Falcons’ defense seemingly every time he touched the ball.
Not only did McCaffrey double his output for 10-plus yard runs, but he tripled his touchdown total on the ground with a pair of scores on Sunday night. His first score of the game was a one-yard score to get San Francisco on the board, giving the 49ers their first lead of the night. His second score bookended the 49ers’ scoring, getting an assist from Connor Colby pulling the running back into the end zone, to put the game away, giving San Francisco an insurmountable 10-point lead with two and a half minutes left in the game.
Oh, and that doesn’t even mention his performance in the passing game, totalling a team-high 72 yards on seven receptions. To set up his second touchdown, Mac Jones found McCaffrey on a third-and-13 that resulted in a 17-yard gain, which was the beginning of the end for Atlanta. McCaffrey’s 201 yards from scrimmage on Sunday night were the most he’s had as a 49er, and the most he’s had in a game since Week 5 of the 2019 season, when he totalled 237 yards against the Jaguars as a member of the Panthers.
It was just the type of game the 49ers were waiting for from McCaffrey, especially when Jones had his worst game as a passer this season. For that alone, McCaffrey was the easy choice for Week 7’s No. 1 star.
Throughout the season, I will track the three stars of the season, tallying up points for each star award using a complex scoring system: three points for being the first star, two for the second, and one for the third. Through Week 7, the standings are:
- LB Fred Warner – 11 points
- RB Christian McCaffrey – 6 points
- QB Mac Jones – 5 points
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