The San Francisco 49ers found themselves in yet another position where they'd have to win to stay atop both the conference and the NFC West in Week 15, this time against the visiting Atlanta Falcons, who were looking to put a dent into the Niners' playoff picture. With both the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers winning earlier in the day, the pressure would be on head coach Kyle Shanahan and Co. to maintain the lead pace with a win over Atlanta.
The Falcons opened up on offense, yet their opening drive was thwarted by a pass breakup from fill-in safety Marcell Harris, who got the start over an injured Jaquiski Tartt.
But San Francisco's opening possession moved in the wrong direction, as left tackle Joe Staley surrendered a sack of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo by Falcons EDGE Vic Beasley. Yet Shanahan, who was facing his former employer for the first time since taking the Niners' head coaching gig in 2017, got another chance to move the ball soon thereafter and flip what had previously been a field position almost entirely favorable for Atlanta. Thanks to running back Raheem Mostert and tight end George Kittle, the 49ers were able to move into Falcons territory. A roughing the passer call on Falcons EDGE Adrian Clayborn on 3rd-and-19 kept San Francisco's drive alive.
And as the Niners worked the extended 10-plus minute drive into the second quarter, Mostert punched it in from 2 yards out to put San Francisco up 7-0:
Strike first, then spike! @RMos_8Ball runs it in for the #49ers TD 🙌 pic.twitter.com/SUsiypaGNs
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 15, 2019
If you notice the one roller-skate block towards the top of the clip, that's Kittle's work.
The Falcons were able to work their way deep into 49ers territory the following drive, however, thanks to a 28-yard pickup by wide receiver Julio Jones along the sidelines. Shanahan challenged the play, hoping Jones wasn't able to get both feet down before going out of bounds, but the call stood and Atlanta was soon in the red zone.
Quarterback Matt Ryan then hit Jones again for a 5-yard touchdown to tie things up at seven apiece.
The 49ers went 3-and-out their following drive, which forced a punt and opened up a chance for the Falcons to take the lead in the waning minutes of the second half. Yet the Niners defense held enough, aided by a non-call of pass interference against cornerback Emmanuel Moseley and against an Atlanta challenge, which eventually forced a Falcons go-ahead field goal to make it 10-7.
Running back Tevin Coleman, who had gone cold over the past few weeks, got some revenge against his former team just before the two-minute warning, rumbling ahead for a crucial 37-yard rush on 3rd-and-long to keep the chains moving:
Take off @Teco_Raww 💨💨💨#GoNiners | #ATLvsSF pic.twitter.com/CaMmC5dIq8
— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) December 15, 2019
But San Francisco couldn't punch it into the end zone on the drive, settling on a 22-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould to tie things up at 10-10.
The 49ers will open up the second half on offense.
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
