Atlanta Falcons

49ers vs. Falcons: The Good, Bad & Ugly from San Francisco's 41-13 Loss to Falcons

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:17 p.m. ET

Fansided, Peter Panacy/FanSided via Niner Noise

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t come close to stopping quarterback Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15, losing 41-13 in the process. Niner Noise breaks down the good, bad and ugly from San Francisco’s latest embarrassment.

Dec 18, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons defensive end Courtney Upshaw (91) reacts after making a tackle against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the 49ers 41-13. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Things aren’t going to start getting better for the San Francisco 49ers anytime soon. And things certainly looked as bad as they are, as the Niners fell 41-13 to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15.

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As has been the case all season, San Francisco’s defense couldn’t hold an opposing running back to less than 100 rushing yards. The Niners defense was routinely out of position, poised to be picked apart by another team’s quarterback.

And, offensively, head coach Chip Kelly’s second-half approach couldn’t get anything going.

It’s the same narrative. Only the opponent and the script changes slightly.

The 49ers are now 1-13 on the season. Their defense is historically bad. The offense lacks playmakers, and questions about the future of this team won’t go away anytime soon.

So, as we always do, Niner Noise breaks down the good, bad and ugly from San Francisco’s latest efforts. And, like all too often this season, the good will be heavily outweighed by those things bad and ugly.

It paints a provocative picture about the future of this franchise. What happens in January?

At least we’ll only have to do this twice more on the season.

Dec 18, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) passes the ball to running back Shaun Draughn (24) against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the 49ers 41-13. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Good

Not much. But we’ve heard that before.

Almost all of it starts and ends with quarterback Colin Kaepernick. And even that has its limits.

Kap was 20-of-33 on the day for 183 yards and two touchdown passes — both of which came in the second quarter. One of those, a 16-yard pass to tight end Garrett Celek, was solid:

This throw ????@Kaepernick7 finds @GCells85…@49ers TD! #GoNiners https://t.co/OSatquqtkL

— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2016

But that was about it. Kap was silenced in the second half, routinely overthrowing or overpowering his receiving targets.

It wouldn’t have been too bad if running back Carlos Hyde had it going on the day. Hyde did manage 5.5 yards per carry on 17 attempts. But his costly first-quarter fumble led to a Falcons touchdown, and he wasn’t much of a factor throughout the contest.

Wide receiver Jeremy Kerley continued to be one of the few reliable targets on San Francisco’s roster. He had five grabs, but for only 28 yards.

Dec 18, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Tevin Coleman (26) runs past San Francisco 49ers free safety Jaquiski Tartt (29) during the first half at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons defeated the 49ers 41-13. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Bad

Where to start? And what should we save for the ugliness from San Francisco’s efforts?

Well, chalk up yet another second-half disappearing act from the 49ers offense. That’s been seen far too many times this season. And a mere 13 points against a suspect Falcons defense tells you just how bad head coach Chip Kelly’s offense is right now.

Kelly didn’t get any help or luck from the injury side of things. The Niners lost wide receiver Quinton Patton, tight end Blake Bell and center Marcus Martin to various injuries during the contest.

Add those to an ever-growing list of injuries the team is dealing with right now, and one can see how ugly this season has become.

Here’s another bad issue — San Francisco’s pass rush and subsequent coverage.

The Niners managed only one seemingly meaningless sack of quarterback Matt Ryan. Otherwise, pressure on the QB was nonexistent. Lesser signal-callers, like the Chicago Bears’ Matt Barkley and New York Jets’ Bryce Petty, were even able to carve up the San Francisco secondary.

Ryan had zero trouble doing so, throwing for 286 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 144.5 passer-rating performance.

All of it without No. 1 receiver Julio Jones (toe).

Dec 18, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman (24) scores a rushing touchdown in the third quarter of their game against the San Francisco 49ers at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons won 41-13. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The Ugly

San Francisco allowed 40 points to an opponent for the fourth time this season. That happened only twice in 2015.

No surprises here — the 49ers will remain the NFL’s worst defense through Week 15.

Even more problematic was the Niners run defense, which has now set a franchise-worst record, according to Eric Branch of SFGate.com:

#49ers have, again, established franchise record for rushing yards allowed in season (2,365). Previous: 2,363 (1978).

— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) December 18, 2016

Yup, you’re watching the worst 49ers defense in franchise history. And there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Falcons running back Devonta Freeman rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns, leading all Atlanta rushers and helping total 248 yards on the ground.