The Atlanta Falcons travel to take on the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Atlanta Falcons are 6-7 on the season and have won 2 of their last 3 games. The Falcons are coming off of 29-21 win against the Carolina Panthers last week. Atlanta was actually outgained in total yards 334 – 318 in this game, but they won the turnover battle 3-1. After falling behind 7-0 in the first quarter, Atlanta scored 17 unanswered to lead 17-7 at the half. After the Panther’s cut the lead to 17-14 in the third quarter, the Falcon’s extended the lead to 29-14 before ultimately putting the game away. Matt Ryan threw for 190 yards and 1 touchdown in this game, while Cordarrelle Patterson added 58 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground. The Atlanta Falcons are averaging 18.8 points per game and giving up 27.2 points per game against, while also averaging 225.3 passing yards per game and 91.1 rushing yards per game. Matt Ryan has passed for 3,104 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions this season, while completing 68.1% of his passes. The most electric player in this offense is easily Cordarrelle Patterson, who has rushed for 547 yards and 5 touchdowns, while also adding 46 receptions for 519 yards and 5 touchdowns so far this season.
The San Francisco 49ers come into this game with a record of 7-6 and have won 4 of their last 5 games. The 49ers are coming off of a thrilling 26-23 overtime win at Cincinnati. San Francisco led 20-6 in the fourth quarter before the Bengals made a furious comeback, tying the game on a 32 yard Ja’Marr Chase touchdown with 1:19 left in the game. In overtime, the Bengals started with a field goal before Brandon Aiyuk scored on a 12-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo to win the game. Garoppolo passed for 296 yards and 2 touchdowns, while George Kittle added 151 receiving yards and 1 touchdown in the 49ers victory. The San Francisco 49ers are averaging 25.3 points per game and are giving up 23.2 points per game against, while also averaging 240.4 passing yards per game and 123.9 rushing yards per game. On the season, Jimmy Garoppolo has passed for 2,937 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, while completing 66.7% of his passes. Elijah Mitchell is the team’s leading rusher, but missed last week due to a concussion and is out this week as well. Deebo Samuel has helped fill the void in the backfield with 33 rushing attempts for 240 yards and 6 touchdowns, while also contributing 57 receptions for 1,028 yards and 5 touchdowns this year.
The Atlanta Falcons are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against a team from the NFC. The under is 4-1 in Atlanta’s last 5 games overall. The San Francisco 49ers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall and 4-10 ATS in their last 14 home games. The over is 5-2 in San Francisco’s last 7 home games.
The Atlanta Falcons come into this game having a lot of success on the road this season, but face a very tough 49ers team that has only lost one time in the last 5 games. One of the big keys to this game is if San Francisco can find a way to slow down Cordarrelle Patterson, who is the Falcons biggest offensive weapon. San Francisco is currently holding a wild card spot and cannot afford to drop this game. I like San Francisco to win the game, but I think it will be closer than many think. I like the Falcons and the points.
AUTHOR: David Racey
