A Return to Dominance: 49ers Dominate with Run Game and Defense
Shades of 2019 shine through..
Fans and analysts alike didn’t know what version of the San Francisco 49ers they would get in their Week 7 primetime matchup with the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football. Would it be the gutsy team that won a thriller over the LA Rams in week five? Maybe it would be the frustrating team that couldn’t get out of its own way in its week four stinker vs the Jacksonville Jaguars. As it turned out, neither of those would be the team that took the field Sunday night at Levi’s Stadium. The team we saw that night looked more like the dominant 2019 squad that pounded the rock, controlled the clock, and stopped the run defensively. The 49ers returned to an intimidating brand of excellence on Sunday in a Week 7 victory over the Falcons.
There were plenty of challenges Kyle Shanahan and Robert Saleh would have to face in order to get the win at home. Coming into the game, the Falcons boasted the #2 ranked total offense and the #1 ranked rushing attack in the league, spearheaded by the dual-threat Bijan Robinson at running back. Defensively, the Falcons ranked #1 in average offensive allowed, with the #1 passing defense in the league.
An overlooked statistic that worked in Shanahan’s favor was that Atlanta’s defense was ranked #16 vs the run, a weakness that he was effective in exploiting. The 49ers finished with 174 total rushing yards, their highest output by 55 yards this season. The team averaged 4.46 yards per carry on the night, a big improvement from previous weeks. CMC also had two rushing touchdowns, bringing the team’s total for the year from one to three. True to that 2019 style, the 49ers ran the ball effectively, played physical football, and controlled the clock.
On defense, Robert Saleh stuck to his core philosophy on defense: stopping the run, win in the trenches, and not giving up explosive plays. A Falcons rushing attack that led the league in average rushing yards per game at 151.2 was held to just 62 yards, and no rushing touchdowns.
To complement the excellent run defense, the 49ers did a great job keeping the Falcons’ passing attack in check. Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. rarely had a clean pocket to operate from. The Niners’ defensive line constantly harassed and hit him as he was throwing, preventing him from delivering accurate passes with anticipation. They’re credited with three sacks, four QB hits, and 15 hurries according to Pro Football Focus. Penix Jr. finished the night with a pedestrian 241 yards passing with one touchdown, and two sacks; one of which resulted in a fumble that the 49ers recovered.
As stressful as it has been at times this season, watching the 49ers on Sunday night felt like a breath of fresh air. The team imposed its will on both sides of the ball in a 20-10 win that felt more lopsided than that. It resembled the kind of domination we saw in the 2019 season, where both the offense and defense suffocated opposing teams for the entire game. If the Niners can consistently play this brand of football for the rest of the 2025 season, they’ll be a team nobody wants to face.