ATLANTA – The 49ers were expected to remain undefeated on Sunday with a fourth-quarter comeback.
Then Falcons rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels got in the way.
Daniels surprisingly dropped into coverage and intercepted Brock Purdy’s third-and-9 pass with 2:30 left, sealing a 29-20 loss for the 49ers.
“All of a sudden I threw the ball, (Daniels) came from behind and tipped it to him,” Purdy said. “I didn’t see him or anything. Credit to him; he made a good play.”
The 49ers (6-1) enter the bye angry about self-inflicted mistakes – on offense, defense and special teams – against the Falcons (3-4).
Four turnovers by the 49ers offense, four penalties by the defense and a few potential touchdown reversals spelled the end of their fate.
“All I think it’s going to do is light a bigger fire under us,” tight end George Kittle said. “We want to keep winning. It’s definitely going to ruin our whole bye week, and that’s good. When we come back, the guys will be incredibly focused and have great intent (on Nov. 8) against the Raiders.”
Kittle’s last-minute fumble at the Falcons’ 19-yard line allowed the home crowd to celebrate the Falcons’ first victory in four games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Daniels recovered the fumble, a week after being carted off the field on a stretcher with a neck injury.
“Anytime you have four turnovers like that and you don’t get any results, it’s very hard to win,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “…Too sloppy today.”
After two reviews nullified fourth-quarter touchdowns from Jordan Watkins and Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Juszczyk’s 1-yard catch held up and brought the 49ers within 26-20 with 5:05 to play. But Eddy Piñeiro missed the ensuing kick, his fourth failure this season.
The 49ers defense did its part by forcing a three-and-out, then the Falcons’ Jake Bailey took a punt out of bounds to the 49ers’ 47.
With four minutes remaining in the comeback, the 49ers were unable to find a success. Completions from Kittle and McCaffrey put the 49ers third and fourth compared to the Falcons’ 47. Then Brandin Cooks committed a false start penalty and Purdy tried to force a third-and-9 pass to Watkins.
Atlanta converted Daniels’ interception into Nick Folk’s 31-yard field goal with 1:56 left, making it a two-point game.
Cooks? Watkins? Yes, the 49ers’ attrition at wide receiver caused Purdy to target nine different players, but no passes were thrown to Christian Kirk in his 49ers debut. Mike Evans (Achilles) was out for the first time this season, and the receiving corps was also missing Deebo Samuel (hamstring), Demarcus Robinson (ankle), De’Zhaun Stribling (ankle) and Ricky Pearsall (season-ending knee surgery).
The 49ers defense played a fifth straight game without Nick Bosa (calf) and did not sack Michael Penix, who threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns.
“Defensively, it was super sloppy all day,” linebacker Fred Warner said.
Purdy finished 27 of 40 for 288 yards with a touchdown pass and two interceptions; he had thrown just two interceptions during the 49ers’ 6-0 start.
Because McCaffrey was out in the first half with a left thigh injury on that opening series, Kaelon Black saw plenty of action. Although Black scored his first career touchdown on a 30-yard run in the second quarter, he also recorded his first career lost fumble.
The comeback in the fourth quarter initially looked promising when officials ruled Watkins had scored a 23-yard touchdown with 11:43 remaining. However, a replay review reversed this score; Purdy followed with back-to-back incompletions, then was sacked on fourth down. This drive opened with a 35-yard Purdy bomb to Watkins, who then had a potential 21-yard catch to the 13-yard line that was ruled a miss.
The 49ers led 14-3 before the Falcons scored the next 23 points, taking the lead on Penix’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts on the first drive after halftime. Penix opened the fourth quarter with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Drake London, leaving the 49ers with a 26-14 deficit while Falcons fans crowd-surfed in the stands.
Turnovers on consecutive possessions, either side of halftime, swung the lead and momentum for the 49ers, who further hurt themselves with four defensive penalties, including two on reserve cornerback Jack Jones, who was on the bench as the 49ers deployed Ashtyn Davis and then Ephesians Prysock in the secondary.
Trailing 19-14, Purdy completed its first four passes of the second half before a throw attempt was intercepted at the 10-yard line by safety Jesse Bates III. It was Purdy’s third interception all season, and his fourth came later thanks to Daniels.
McCaffrey scored on a 1-yard touchdown run on the game’s first drive, but he was out the previous three plays with a hamstring issue. He missed most of the next three series, but returned for the second half and finished with 39 yards on seven carries, plus 6 catches for 61 yards. Black led the 49ers in rushing with 63 yards on 12 carries.
“My leg just died and I tried to keep going the rest of the game,” McCaffrey said. “It sucks trying to play that way. I know you’ll be fine, but it’s really frustrating.”
Gn sports
