Falcons @ 49ers: Week 7 Report Card
Elite Culture Shines Through
The San Francisco 49ers continued to show no quit in them. Not only did they upset the Atlanta Falcons coming off a huge win against the Buffalo Bills, but the offense shined with the return of George Kittle, even without a catch. The defense, similarly, showed up and pitched an excellent game in their first full match without All-Pro and leader Fred Warner. Let’s breakdown the positional groups and grade them from their impressive primetime win.
Offense
Quarterback: B
Very much a passive aspect of a legendary Christian McCaffrey game, Mac Jones was not asked to do a ton Sunday evening. He managed 152 yards on 17/26, 0 touchdowns to 1 interception. The interception was more on Jauan Jennings, but it wasn’t a great throw either. His biggest moment of the night came when he hit McCaffrey down the seam on third down. The play that set up the game sealing touchdown. All in all, the backup did what was asked of him in an arduous defensive matchup. Rock solid B.
Offensive Line: B+
This was a tricky assessment because there were so many plusses, and so many minuses. The guard play continues to be a mess, delivering multiple plays dead on arrival. It should be noted this was easily Trent William’s best play of 2025, looking very much like his All Pro self. He was a key contributor to the one sack allowed outing. After losing center Jake Brendel to a hamstring strain, backup Matt Hennesy filled in amiably. The Falcons sport one of the better lines in the league, if I did not credit so much of the rushing performance to George Kittle this was live to get an A. But a B+ is a huge improvement from the D range this unit has been living in.
Running Back: A+
How could this not be an A+? What we saw Sunday was one of the best to ever do it showing out. Not much more to say. 24 carries, 129 yards, and 2 touchdowns. An additional 7 receptions for 72 yards. Sensational, generational, CMC is the man. A+ for the 1:1 half back.
Wide Receivers: D-
This week we cannot group the receiver play with the tight ends because one was so much worse than the other. 49ers receivers combine for 60 yards against the Falcons. Jennings let a ball skip off his hands, straight into the waiting arms of a defender. Demarcus Robinson had a brutal third down drop as well. I felt like this was clearly their worst performance of 2025. A 60% D-, not even verging on a mid range D.
Tight Ends: A
George Kittle is back ladies and gentlemen. This game was about displaying why he is one of the most well rounded to ever play the position. He only saw 2 targets, producing no yardage off either. But the people’s tight end was as good as it gets on rushing plays. His reach blocks on the ends of the line gave the tackles or pulling lineman so much flexibility to work with. He was often the puller himself. The entire run scheme looked functional and absolutely steam rolled an elite defense, on the back of Kittle’s return. He aced the report card this week easily.
We are doing something a little different here, these have typically been grouped but the level of play between these two was so disparate I can’t do it.
Defense
Defensive Line: A
The 49ers pressured Michael Penix Jr. on 22 out of 60 drop backs, and generated 2 sacks. This was the line’s best performance since Nick Bosa was injured. Bijan Robinson had a long run of seven yards in Santa Clara. 62 rushing yards allowed overall.
They pressured and hit Penix in key moments, primarily because Bryce Huff was on fire. Rookie Mykel Williams had several timely pressures and was operating like a seasoned vet out there as well. Alfred Collins continues to be a brick wall in the middle of the defense. Veteran Sam Okuayinonu had the best game he’s had in a 49ers jersey. This is a very well deserved and much needed A.
Linebackers: A
Cannot believe we got A-level play out of a Fred Warner-less linebacker room, but we did. Right off the rip an effective Dee Winters blitz up the middle helped put a stop to the Falcons first drive. My notes were littered with Tatum Bethune plusses, especially on the outside zone run. His sideline to sideline diagnosis’ and speed jumped off the screen. He finished as the team’s fourth highest graded defensive player, second highest in pass coverage. What a performance from the backup. Easy A.
Defensive Backs: C+
PFF absolutely hammered both CBs and safeties in coverage grading. Chase Lucas was decent, achieving a 77.9. But beyond that we see the other starters at the 28-60.5 range. They had no answer for average players like Darnell Mooney and Kyle Pitts. The CB1, Deommodore Lenior had both a pass interference, and a coverage grade of 54.8. If the line was not pressuring at the rate they were, the secondary could have been exposed here. It also has to be factored in how well they played the rush. We’ll C if they can improve to a B by next week.
Special Teams: C+
Special Teams scoring has been a constant since Eddie Pineiro arrived, but ceding return yards is the concern for this phase of the game. That showed itself again Sunday when busted kickoff coverage allowed Jamal Agnew to get the ball to the San Francisco 48, setting up the only touchdown the Falcons would score. We had a perfect night from Eddie and the majority of the opposition’s drives beginning from inside 30. But in an evening where points were at a premium, that blown kickoff coverage could have been what swung it. C+ for this one.