Sunday night’s 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons for the San Francisco 49ers was a masterclass performance from both Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh.
With both sides of the ball dealing with plenty of injuries, the 49ers put together their best performance of the 2025 season thanks to a solid game plan from Shanahan and Saleh.
On the offensive side of the ball, the constant commitment to the run game finally paid off, with the 49ers having their best game on the ground in quite some time. On the other side, it was about keeping Atlanta’s offensive weapons at bay, and that was done with ease behind Saleh and how often he kept Atlanta’s young quarterback on his toes.
It was an impressive showing from the 49ers. But what did we learn?
The running game has a pulse
After six subpar games from the 49ers’ run offense compared to what 49ers fans have grown used to, the run game finally made its first appearance of the 2025 season.
It was a perfect combination of things with the return of George Kittle adding the 49ers’ best run blocker back to the offense, Atlanta’s run defense having its fair share of struggles, and the Falcons being without Jalon Walker and losing Dvine Deablo during Sunday night’s game. With all of that, the 49ers’ run game dominated, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt on 39 attempts, good for 174 rushing yards on the night.
The run game was obviously supported by Christian McCaffrey’s big night. Entering Week 7, his best rushing performance came back in Week 1 (maybe not coincidentally also the last time Kitttle played) when he ran for 69 yards in the win over Seattle. McCaffrey almost doubled that with his performance against the Falcons, rushing for 129 yards on a season-high 24 rushing attempts with a pair of touchdowns.
The gaps seemed to be wider on Sunday night for McCaffrey, and he gladly took advantage. Through the first six games, McCaffrey had seven runs that gained more than ten yards. The loss of explosiveness from McCaffrey might have been the biggest factor in the running struggles. The explosiveness was back on Sunday night, where McCaffrey gained ten yards or more on seven of his 24 attempts.
Brian Robinson even had a productive day, just to show how dominant the 49ers were on the ground. Robinson saw his most rushing attempts since Week 1 with nine attempts for a season-high 36 yards.
Maybe it’s just a blip in an otherwise uneventful season for the 49ers running attack, but with the circumstances around Sunday night’s win, it’s a welcome sight. For the first time in 2025, the 49ers have some momentum in the run game. Let’s see if that can continue in Week 8 and beyond.
The pass rush has a pulse
Just like the running game, the pass rush has been a group that usually excels but has had its fair share of struggles this season. The reason is more clear-cut than the running game issues, with the loss of Nick Bosa, but finally, the 49ers’ defensive front showed some life.
After three weeks where the 49ers only managed two sacks and 30 pressures, San Francisco’s pass rush generated 22 pressures and two sacks on Sunday night alone.
The increase in production was led by Bryce Huff, who finished with five pressures and a strip sack that resulted in a quick three points for the 49ers offense before the end of the first half. One of his pressures was just as efficient as a sack as well, when some heat from Huff forced Michael Penix to throw the ball away while in the pocket, drawing an intentional grounding flag with the ten-second run off ending the first half.
While Huff was impressive, Sam Okuayinonu was just as good on the other side of the line. Okuayinonu matched Huff’s effort, recording five pressures and a sack of his own. His sack was just as crucial as Huff’s, halting a 19-play drive with his third-down sack of Penix, holding Atlanta to just three points on the Falcons’ longest drive of the season.
It wasn’t just Huff and Okuayinonu creating the pressure, however. Alfred Collins doubled his pressure production on the season with his three pressures on Sunday night. Jordan Elliott and Kevin Givens – in his season debut – created four pressures up the middle, something the 49ers have been lacking all season. Mykel Williams had a pressure and a quarterback hurry as well in what was the most complete game by the 49ers front this season.
But it wasn’t just the line getting into the backfield. Robert Saleh was creative with his blitzes all game, allowing multiple free runs at Penix from Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune. The two linebackers combined for three pressures and three quarterback hurries, with Bethune having a sack wiped off the board by a Deommodore Lenoir illegal contact penalty. Even Chase Lucas joined the fun with a pressure from the slot himself.
Things will be even more challenging with Monday’s news of Huff injuring his hamstring late on Sunday night, likely keeping him out for a few weeks. But it was a pleasant sight seeing such a vintage game from the 49ers’ pass rush on Sunday night.
As long as Robert Saleh is here, there’s a way
Let’s pull the microscope back from our focus on the defensive line to look at the defense as a whole. Sunday night was easily Saleh’s best performance of the season.
The 49ers’ defense entered Sunday night without Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, or Upton Stout. During the game, they lost Renardo Green to a toe injury. Without those four, who were the best 49ers defenders on Sunday night per PFF grades? Huff at 81.9 (Bosa’s replacement), Chase Lucas at 81.0 (Stout’s replacement), Okuayinonu at 79.0 (Huff’s replacement), and Tatum Bethune at 79.3 (Warner’s replacement)
Despite a defense that’s been whittled down to mostly backups and rookies, the 49ers held the Falcons to their first game of the season with fewer than 300 total yards. That was in large part due to just how well the 49ers’ defense handled Bijan Robinson.
Entering Week 7, Robinson’s lowest output in terms of total yards from scrimmage was his 111 yards against the Carolina Panthers in Week 3 when the Falcons lost 30-0. But typically, when Robinson has a bad game on the ground, he makes up in the pass game (see Week 1 when he had 24 rushing yards but 100 receiving yards) or vice versa (see Week 2 when Robinson finished with 25 receiving yards but 143 rushing yards).
Sunday night was the first game of the season Robinson was stifled in both.
Saleh and company schemed together a game plan that held Robinson to only 40 yards on 14 rushes and 52 yards on six receptions. Robinson’s 4.6 yards per touch was his lowest average in a game this season by a solid yard and a half. No matter what Atlanta tried to throw at the 49ers’ defense with Robinson, Saleh had a response.
Not only did Saleh and the 49ers defense hold Robinson to his season-low in total yards, but they also held Drake London to a season-low 42 receiving yards on four receptions. What was lost in London was made up by Kyle Pitts, who finished with 62 yards on seven receptions, but he didn’t make much of an impact on the game.
Despite all the injuries to the 49ers’ defense and the weapons on the Falcons’ offense, Saleh cooked up a game plan that was perfectly executed, resulting in the 49ers’ best win of the season. Saleh will likely get some head coach offers at the end of this season once again, but it would be smart of San Francisco to offer a blank check to ensure he never leaves his post as their defensive coordinator.
About the Author: Insidethe49
