49ers at Falcons Line

Written by Jack Jones

The 0-3 San Francisco 49ers travel to Atlanta Sunday in hopes of getting their first win of the season against the 2-1 Falcons. Atlanta is coming off a huge win last week, a 27-24 overtime thrilling against the defending champion Saints. NFL odds for this game show us Falcons -6.5 over 49ers with a total set of 42.5 points.

Atlanta could easily be 3-0 or 1-2 right now. They’ve played a pair of overtime games sandwiched around a 41-7 victory over Arizona in Week 2 in their only home game. The Falcons lost 9-15 at Pittsburgh in Week 1, but reeled off back-to-back victories after going into New Orleans to escape with a 27-24 win. Atlanta will admit that they were fortunate last week, escaping a 29-yard field goal attempt in overtime from Garrett Hartley that went wide left.

Matt Ryan capitalized on Hartley’s miss, driving the Falcons 62 yards to set up Matt Bryant’s 46-yard game-winner. Ryan posted a passer rating over 100.0, and when he does that Atlanta is 11-0 in his career. Michael Turner and Jason Snelling combined for 202 rushing yards, and Tony Gonzalez went for over 100 yards receiving with a touchdown, proving he can still get it done. Roddy White continued his great start, catching his 12th touchdown pass in the last 16 games.

These teams met up on October 11th last season at Candlestick Park, but it was not much of a game. Atlanta rolled 45-10 behind 329 passing yards from Ryan. White had a career-best 210 yards receiving, and Turner rushed for 97 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. It was the start of a four-game losing streak for the 49ers, who had started 3-1 last year. Many expected San Francisco to run away with the NFC West division, but that simply has not happened.

There were questions about this 49ers offense coming into the year, but almost everyone expected their defense to be better than it has. The 49ers are last in scoring defense, surrendering 29.0 points/game. They are also 31st in scoring offense, putting up a mere 12.7 points/game. It hasn’t been a good combination, and they simply failed to show up last week in a 31-10 loss at Kansas City. The 49ers flashed their potential on Monday Night Football in Week 2, losing 22-25 in overtime to the Saints in a game where they clearly outplayed New Orleans, but turnovers doomed them in the end.

“It is stunning because we have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, especially on offense,” Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis said. “We have speed, we have guys that love to get after it. But like I said, we need an answer.”

San Francisco needs to ride Frank Gore this week. When he gets 100 yards, the 49ers are 14-6 in his career. But when he’s held to less than the century mark, San Francisco is a mere 11-31. Both Pittsburgh and Arizona had success running against this defense, each averaging 5.9 yards/carry. It will be tough to win in Atlanta, considering Ryan is 14-1 at home as a starter since his rookie season.

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