SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Atlanta Falcons lost to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Week 7 on "Sunday Night Football."
Final score: 20-10
Why it's important: The Falcons drop to 3-3 overall, which moves them to third in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers won their Week 7 game and are 4-3, ahead of the Falcons due to an extra game. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, meanwhile, improved to 5-1 with another victory. (For what it's worth, the New Orleans Saints lost and are now 1-6, soundly last in the divisional race.)
Key takeaway: The Falcons had the 27th-ranked scoring offense entering Week 7, and it showed Sunday. Atlanta posted only 10 points, with one touchdown and one field goal. The Falcons' inability to put points on the board is a concern they'll look to address.
Key moment: In the second quarter, as Atlanta trailed by four points, Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was sacked by 49ers defensive end Bryce Huff on a first-and-10 play near midfield. Huff forced a fumble loose in the process, and 49ers defensive tackle Alfred Collins recovered it. San Francisco turned that turnover into three points, extending its lead.
- What happened next: The Falcons got the ball back with 32 seconds remaining. They made it to the 49ers' 22-yard line with 17 seconds left until halftime. Penix scrambled on the last play, ultimately throwing it away. He was called for intentional grounding, and time expired due to the resulting 10-second runoff. Instead of potentially adding a field goal, Atlanta went into the locker room trailing, 10-3.
Standout performance: Kyle Pitts Sr. As the Falcons struggled to consistently run the ball, their tight end stepped up in the passing game. He had seven receptions for 62 yards, both of which were season highs.
Number to know: 23. The number 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey dons. He totaled 129 of the 49ers' 174 total rushing yards. McCaffrey is the first player to break triple digits against the Falcons this season. Atlanta previously hadn't allowed more than 147 yards on the ground, and that was in its Week 4 win against the Washington Commanders.
Player milestone:
- With his second-quarter interception, inside linebacker Kaden Elliss is one of eight NFL players with at least one sack and one interception in both 2024 and 2025. He is the first Falcons player with those marks in consecutive seasons since inside linebacker Foyesade Oluokun did so in 2020-21.
- With his 10-yard receiving touchdown in the third quarter, running back Bijan Robinson reached seven career receiving touchdowns and 27 career scrimmage touchdowns. That's the most and second-most, respectively, by a Falcons running back through three seasons.
Injury updates:
- Inside linebacker Divine Deablo left the game in the second quarter with a forearm injury and was ruled out shortly after. Divine's departure was a huge loss for the Falcons, as the 6-foot-3, 223-pound “Avatar” has been a dominant force in the middle of the defense alongside veteran Kaden Elliss. In the first five games, Deablo broke up a career-high four passes, recovered a fumble and assisted in a sack.
- JD Bertrand filled in. The Falcons drafted Bertrand in the fifth round last year, and Sunday marked his 18th career appearance. He had, however, previously only taken one defensive snap this season. The 49ers began attacking up the middle to exploit the personnel switch.
A quick tweet: Tori McElhaney, Will McFadden and Terrin Waack share their gut reactions to Sunday's outcome in 280 characters or less.
- McElhaney: Story of the game — Falcons only had 62 rushing yards. Christian McCaffrey had 129.
- McFadden: Atlanta has to figure out a reliable secondary pitch on offense to win a game like this.
- Waack: The scoreboard never really reflected how I felt the game was going.
Setting the storylines:
- Why is running back Bijan Robinson so good at dodging defenders? It's all about "The Art of The Juke."
- Left tackle Jake Matthews injured his ankle in the Falcons' last game; he didn't fully participate in practice this week and was questionable entering Sunday. Perhaps to no one’s surprise, Matthews played, making his 184th consecutive career start. That's the longest active streak in the NFL.
- Defensive lineman Ta'Quon Graham was activated from injured reserve this week, while safety Jordan Fuller was designated to return, opening up his 21-day practice window.
- The Falcons listed three key players as inactive for Sunday's game: edge rusher Jalon Walker, cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. and wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud III.
- A big storyline entering Sunday's game was whether the Falcons could prove they learned from their Week 3 loss to the Carolina Panthers and build off a big win.
- Catch up on all the news that came out in the lead-up to Monday's game in one spot here.
Looking forward: The Falcons host the Miami Dolphins in Week 8 inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium for a 1 p.m. ET game next Sunday.
