FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Welcome back to Early Bird Report!

The Atlanta Falcons added another tally to their win column and handed the San Francisco 49ers their first loss of the season in a competitive 29-20 game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It was a complementary showing from the Falcons, who put on display the brand of football they are striving for.

The day after each game this season, we will collect all the nuggets we haven't used and organize them in a digestible way to give fans as comprehensive a view of the team as possible.

Here are the notes and quotes you should know from 49ers vs. Falcons.

Kendal Daniels delivers in a big way

One week after injuring his neck against the Chicago Bears and leaving the field on a medical cart, the Falcons rookie linebacker showed what he's made of. Not only did he overcome the odds to suit up and play in the game, but he also took on the responsibility of communicating the defensive play calls and secured two crucial turnovers late in the fourth quarter.

A fourth-round pick and former safety who transitioned to linebacker for his final college season, Daniels has quickly endeared himself to coaches and teammates alike. There was a lot of praise tossed the rookie's way after the game, much of which is included in this story from Sunday, but not everything made the cut. Here are the leftover quotes from and about Daniels.

LB Kendal Daniels on his mentality heading into the game: "I wasn't scared. I definitely thought, because I haven't been in full pads all week, 'What if I'm not okay?' But once I got my first tackle pregame and just thudding up, I was good.

"I guess you just don't look back like, 'What if I'm not ready?' You just always be like, 'I'm good. Once I get my first hit, I'll be good.' That's probably the biggest thing, just the mentality."

WR Drake London on Daniels' speaking after receiving a game ball: "It means the world to hear that message from him. The middle linebacker position, it's pretty grueling to play that position. He just got stretched off, and now he's playing. So it's really cool to see, especially from a young guy like that who has a bright future ahead of him."

DT Maason Smith on Daniels' preparation: "I, personally, already knew that he was going to do something like that because when you give somebody like that an opportunity like he had today, he's going to always bring it. His preparation is what will keep feeding him.

"A lot of young guys, it takes them a little while to get into that rhythm of watching film and breaking everything down, but he does a hell of a job just being able to process everything. I think he's going to continue to grow from here."

DE Samson Ebukam on Daniels stepping up: "We needed that with [Divine] Deablo down, so he stepped up and filled that void. Filled it pretty great. It's good to see him out there doing what he's doing, especially after everything that happened. The sky is the limit for him."

CB A.J. Terrell on Daniels wearing the green dot: "I don't think he would be in that position if he didn't have the trust behind him with the coaches and the players. It's no shocker that he made a play today that impacted the game that way.

"Kendal is a hell of a player. Being able to go out there and play week in and week out at a high level. He just gets better. How he preps for the games. How he comes into the building. And him taking the green dot and commanding the defense. None of that is a shocker to us; we expected that."

Outstanding offensive line play

According to Next Gen Stats, each of the Falcons' five starting offensive linemen logged 34 pass-blocking snaps without allowing a pressure. Michael Penix Jr. was pressured just six times in total on Sunday, and his 17.1% pressure rate was the second-lowest he's faced in his career.

"Everybody gets credit with a stat like that," Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said. "I would start with, obviously, the players. I'll start with the players and the guys understanding the plan. That's protection and time to throw, all those things. It takes all 11 guys. It's not just an offensive line stat. It's guys getting open; it's the quarterback making great decisions. And the offensive staff, I thought [Offensive Coordinator] Tommy [Rees] and the offensive staff put together a great plan today with going up against that type of defense. Kudos to those guys."

With the 49ers' defense kept at bay, Penix had one of his best performances of the season. He completed 25 of his 34 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Atlanta's offensive design allowed for a diverse array of targets, with 10 different players catching a pass.

Big-time plays from Jessie Bates

Daniels was not the only defender who forced timely turnovers that led to the Falcons' win. Jessie Bates has delivered time and again for Atlanta since he arrived in 2023, and Sunday was no different.

In the third quarter, Bates made a spectacular sideline interception that required immense body control to get both feet down in bounds.

"That interception is as good as it gets," Stefanski said. "We needed a play in that moment. The ball skills and the wherewithal and the awareness, the toe-drag swag, that's pretty damn good for a safety."

Then, in the final minute of the game, Bates ended the 49ers' last-gasp drive by punching the ball out of tight end George Kittle's arm to force a fumble and clinch the victory. Sunday marked the sixth game of Bates' career in which he had both an interception and a forced fumble, which is tied for the most in the NFL over the last 30 years.

"What we saw out of Jessie today, that's who he is," Penix said. "That's who we see every day, just a guy that's got a nose for the football and is going to make big-time plays whenever we need it. So it was awesome to be able to see him do that."

Falcons displayed their desired identity

In Stefanski's message to the locker room after the win, he discussed the team's identity coming to life on Sunday.

"Identity game," he said. "Can we go be us for 60 minutes? And the answer was, hell yeah we can."

The components of that identity were a plus-four turnover margin that fueled big plays from all three phases. Atlanta's special teams had multiple big returns against the 49ers, and the offense capitalized on the advantageous field position against a good San Francisco defense.

"Just playing complementary football, winning football," Penix said of what the team's identity is becoming. "Going out there, playing fast, physical, and just playing free. Just dialing into the game plan each and every week. Just go out there and be who we are. That's our brand of football. It's just fast, physical, and just want to play smart and tough as well."

The Falcons got contributions from nearly everyone on the roster. From rookie wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who responded well after a couple of mistakes against the Bears, to tight end Nick Muse, who caught his first career touchdown, this was an all-hands-on-deck game

"This group, we're just buying in," Terrell said. "Every defense, you always -- every year we want to play team ball, complementary ball. But I think just the guys that we have in the building, the coaches in the building [are] just harping on complementary ball from offense, defense, and special teams. Everybody having their role to make an impact is the most important thing."