The 49ers couldn’t get out of their own way in their 29-20 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and their PFF grades show where things went wrong. 

Turning the ball over four times clearly was the biggest factor in the team’s first loss of the season, but multiple penalties at inopportune times also had an impact. Quarterback Brock Purdy, who had only two interceptions through six games, threw two in the contest. 

Purdy performed best in short passes, completing five of his six attempts behind the line of scrimmage and 15 of his 18 attempts from zero-to-nine yards downfield. From 10-to-19 yards downfield, Purdy completed only six of his 11 attempts and threw one interception and connected on only one of his three attempts 20 yards or more downfield, along with his second interception. 

The Falcons blitzed on seven of Purdy’s 42 dropbacks, and the play-caller took advantage, connecting on four of his five attempts for 48 yards and a touchdown. The 49ers used play action 10 times, and that helped Purdy complete seven of his nine attempts for 57 yards and a touchdown.

The offensive line allowed 10 total pressures, one of which contributed to an interception. Purdy’s average time to throw was 2.75 seconds, which was his second lowest after Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, where he had a 2.71-second average. 

10 total pressures allowed: 

Connor Colby – four hurries and one sack

Domininck Puni – two hurries 

Colton McKivitz – one hurry 

Jake Brendel – one hurry 

Trent Williams – one sack 

Here are more highlights from Week 7

TE George Kittle – 82.6

Although Kittle fumbled at the end of the game, it did not affect his grade dramatically after all of his contributions on the field. The tight end received the highest grade on the offense, catching eight of his 10 targets for 89 yards, five of which were for first downs and 46 of his yards were after the catch. 

RB Christian McCaffrey – 80.4

McCaffrey got on a roll quickly on the first drive, but was sidelined with a thigh injury not long after. The All-Pro registered seven carries for 39 yards, 21 of which were after contact while gaining two first downs. 

The versatile ball carrier also caught six of his seven targets for 61 yards, with 29 yards after the catch, and three receptions for first downs.  

CB Deommodore Lenoir – 75.7 

The defensive back earned the highest grade on the defense, registering three solo tackles, which registered as stops, and two assists. Lenoir allowed one catch on two targets for only seven yards. 

S Malik Mustapha – 65.4 

The safety registered four solo tackles and four assists, two of which counted as stops/failures for the Falcons’ offense. Mustapha allowed two catches on three targets for only six yards, but one was for a touchdown.

Odds and ends: 

Seven total missed tackles:  

Ji’Ayir Brown was charged with two missed tackles, Ephesians Prysock, Mykel Williams, Sebastian Valdez, Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner all missed one. 

Williams stated that play action and quick throws limited the 49ers’ ability to get pressure on Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix. According to PFF, the Falcons used play action on 25 of his 35 dropbacks. 

When the 49ers blitzed Penix, he completed eight of his 13 attempts for 63 yards and a touchdown. 

Similar to Purdy, Penix only had one completion longer than 10 yards down field.  

Defensive line snap count out of 68 total 

Osa Odighizuwa – 48

Romello Height – 41

Sebastian Valdez – 38

Keion White – 37

Gracen Halton – 34

Mykel Williams – 33

James Thompson – 28

Khalid Kareem – 16

Ogbo Okoronkwo – 10 

After two consecutive games with more than 20 pressures, the defense only managed three quarterback hurries in the game. Keion White, Osa Odighizuwa and James Thompson all were credited with one hurry apiece. 

Coverage: 

Greenlaw allowed eight catches on nine targets for 70 yards, 68 of which came after the catch. 

Renardo Green allowed completions on all three targets for 41 yards, one touchdown and was charged with one penalty. 

Jack Jones allowed four catches on five targets for 39 yards, and was called for two penalties. 

Ji’Ayir Brown allowed catches on two of his three targets for 14 yards. 

Jaden Dugger allowed catches on all four of his targets for 12 yards and a touchdown .

Fred Warner allowed one catch for 10 yards. 

The 49ers now will have an extra week to rest and recover before they host the Las Vegas Raiders at Levi’s Stadium in Week 9. 

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