ATLANTA -- A revived running attack and an aggressive defense led by safety Lawyer Milloy and defensive end John Abraham helped the Falcons take a 20-16 victory over San Francisco Sunday afternoon.
The Falcons (2-6) rushed for 155 yards, including an even 100 by Warrick Dunn, in the game and got two field goals by Morten Andersen in the victory. The team also put pressure on a 49ers team that came into the game missing two offensive starters to ensure the crowd of 66,049 left the Georgia Dome happy.
"We wanted to make sure the fans stayed in their seats, so we put in an entire day of work to get the win," Head Coach Bobby Petrino said. "We had a lot of good things happen this week. Number one, we won the fourth quarter... I thought our defense made some plays (and) a number of our veterans made some great plays."
The Falcons also weathered multiple storms from a team now in the midst of a six-game losing streak.
San Francisco running back Michael Robinson, filling in for an injured Frank Gore, fumbled in the red zone early but tight end Vernon Davis recovered to keep the drive alive. That allowed San Francisco to cap a 10-play, 59-yard first-quarter series with a 9-yard touchdown run by Maurice Hicks.
Trailing 7-0 with 9:10 remaining in the first quarter the Falcons channeled some of their league-best running success from last season.
Dunn carried the ball seven times for 47 yards on the team's first drive and finished off the march with a 9-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Dunn was held up at the line of scrimmage on the scoring play, but pushed off the backs of his offensive line, spun out to his left and ran untouched into the end zone.
"It was a great run," Petrino said. "They brought their linebacker inside our tight end so there was not a lot of room to run. He did a nice job of spinning and bouncing it out towards the sideline. He made a play. He made the play when there was not a lot there."
It was the beginning of a strong day on the ground for the Falcons, whose 101 rushing yards in the first half were just shy of the team's previous season high (103 against the New York Giants).
Atlanta took a 14-7 lead into the locker room after a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Ovie Mughelli -- the first touchdown run of his career. The score was set up by a 9-yard run by Jerious Norwood and, before that, a key third-and-19 completion from quarterback Joey Harrington to wide receiver Roddy White.
Abraham led a defensive attack that harassed 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and made key stops throughout the day. Abraham's pressure of Smith late in the first quarter forced an intentional grounding penalty and set up a third-and-22 for the 49ers.
San Francisco (2-6) took the ball to open the second half and quickly marched 29 yards down field. They looked for more on third-and-short inside of Falcons territory by rushing to the line and preventing any Falcons substitutions. That didn't phase Milloy or the rest of the defense. The team clogged the middle of the field with a blitz and Milloy got into the backfield and dropped Hicks for a loss.
That set up a 49-yard field goal by 49ers kicker Joe Nedney, and a 14-10 Falcons lead with 12:08 remaining in the third quarter.
But Nedney would make it a one-point game less than a minute later.
Harrington threw an interception to safety Michael Lewis after Nedney's 49-yarder that was returned to the Falcons 33. The defense stood strong, however, forcing third-and-3 at the 14. With one-on-one coverage by Chris Houston on wide receiver Darrell Jackson, Smith looked to the end zone but overthrew his target. Nedney's subsequent 32-yarder made the score 14-13 with under eight minutes to play in the third.
A penalty on the kick return put the Falcons inside their 10 for the third time on the afternoon, but the run game came back to give the offensive some breathing room. On the first play of the drive, Dunn ran behind Quinn Ojinnaka for 21 yards to the 30. The drive went three-and-out from there, but gave the team room to punt into 49ers territory.
With space, Milloy got a chance to play center field and picked off Smith and returned it to the 49ers 40.
The offense failed to convert a first down, however, and gave the ball back to San Francisco when a fourth-and-1 sneak by Harrington was stuffed at the line.
But life is about second chances.
Abraham picked up a sack and a forced fumble on the 49ers next possession. The ball was picked up by Montavious Stanley, giving the Falcons new life in San Francisco territory. On the first snap, Harrington avoided a sack and darted up the middle for 13 yards to the 23-yard line. That play set up a 33-yard field goal by Andersen and a 17-13 lead.
The 49ers drove into the red zone on the next series with a steady diet of the run game as the clock turned under 10 minutes. Smith turned to the pass inside the 10, however, and found Davis over the middle for a 9-yard gain. He nearly scored, but safety Chris Crocker got him with a shoe-string tackle that set up third-and-goal at the 1 with 8:37 to play.
The 49ers went with a big set with multiple tight ends and gave the ball to Robinson, who lost 3 yards when he was met by -- who else -- Milloy. That forced another Nedney field goal and a 17-16 Falcons lead that would stick.
"All week on tape we saw that they really couldn't block as well as they probably needed to," Milloy said. "So a lot of us were excited about our package going in. (Defensive coordinator Mike) Zimmer put in a good package as far as pressure. When you get your number called, you have to go out there and produce."
The run game may have sparked the Falcons offense, but the defense decided the game.
A sack by quarterback Keith Brooking with under three minutes to play backed the 49ers into the shadow of their own end zone. DeAngelo Hall came up with an interception on the next play and returned it 18 yards to the San Francisco 15.
"We did a good job creating turnovers and doing what we were supposed to do," Abraham said. "During the last few games we slacked off a little in the fourth quarter, but I think we stepped up and played well at the end of today's game."
The Falcons found themselves in third-and-18 at the two-minute warning, but Harrington found rookie Martrez Milner inside the 15 yard line to set up a game-clinching field goal.
The team now prepares for a trip to division-rival Carolina.
"Guys played hard and the defense made stops where we needed them to," Dunn said. "The offense was consistent enough to make plays and put pressure on the defense. When you finally get a win you have to rejoice in it. We are just going to savor the moment and then get back to work come Wednesday."
Stay with AtlantaFalcons.com into next week for more coverage of the Niners game and preview content for next week's game at Carolina.
MORE FROM THE FALCONS-NINERS GAME:
- GAMEDAY: All the coverage from the 49ers-Falcons game
- STATS AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: NFL.com Game Center
- GAME NOTES: Updates and injury news from the Georgia Dome press box
- INACTIVES AND STARTERS: Inactives and starters from Week 9
- QUOTABLE: Thoughts on the game from Falcons players and coaches
- VIDEO: Head Coach Bobby Petrino
- VIDEO: Safety Lawyer Milloy
- VIDEO: Defensive end John Abraham
- VIDEO: Running back Warrick Dunn
- VIDEO: Touring the Tailgates with Falcon Al
