Divisional road game at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Sun December 14, the 49ers visit the Atlanta Falcons in a season series rematch. Walsh's group enters at 6-8 on a three-game winning streak that includes last week's overtime comeback against New Orleans. Atlanta took the first matchup 20-17 at Candlestick in week four.[1][2][3]
Walsh's second year arrives in Atlanta on a three-game winning streak that includes the largest second-half comeback the regular-season book contains. Three months ago this team lost the first half of this matchup at Candlestick by three. Atlanta has continued its march toward the NFC West crown. The visitors have written one of the most asymmetric seasons in this franchise's recent memory. The Falcons need this game. The 49ers want it.
Week fifteen across the NFC: the playoff bracket sorts itself and the NFC West sends its season-defining game today. Atlanta is in position to take the division outright; the Rams are positioning for a wild card; the 49ers are playing for the closing-month story. The Falcons' season has been the conference's standing reference point at the top of the division since week four.
Fourteen games of data. Cumulative differential minus-65. Three-game winning streak. Across the streak: 12, 21, 38 points scored (average 23.7); 0, 17, 35 allowed (average 17.3). Last week's game produced 38 points from the visiting offense in regulation, the season's high. Stat worth watching today: defensive points-allowed in the first half on the road. The 49ers gave up 35 in two quarters last week before reorganizing.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 10-4 | W3 |
| Houston Oilers | 9-5 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-6 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 5-9 | W2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 10-4 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 8-6 | L2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 7-7 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 7-7 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 3-11 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | 9-5 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 9-5 | L1 |
| Denver Broncos | 7-7 | L2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7-7 | W1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4-10 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 11-3 | W8 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 9-5 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6-8 | W3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 0-14 | L14 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 8-6 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 7-7 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 6-8 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5-8-1 | L2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-8-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 11-3 | W4 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 11-3 | L2 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5-9 | W2 |
| New York Giants | 4-10 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 4-10 | W1 |
Reveal each quarter as you watch, the next quarter stays hidden until you tap it.
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Falcons | Steve Bartkowski 1 yard rush (Tim Mazzetti kick) | 0-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Ray Wersching 41 yard field goal | 3-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Falcons | Junior Miller 11 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) | 3-14 |
| Falcons | Wallace Francis 81 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) | 3-21 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Falcons | Wallace Francis 12 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) | 3-28 |
| Falcons | Al Richardson defensive fumble recovery in end zone (Tim Mazzetti kick) | 3-35 |
| 49ers | Dwight Clark 13 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) | 10-35 |
Falcons 35, 49ers 10. Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium loss on Sun December 14 drops the visiting side to 6-9. Three-game winning streak ends. The 25-point margin is the widest defeat since week six at Dallas. Atlanta's divisional sweep complete and the Falcons clinched the NFC West. The Falcons' offense produced 35 against a defense that had three consecutive weeks inside 17 allowed.[1][2][3]
Three becomes none. A 35-10 Atlanta loss on Sunday and the three-game winning streak that included the largest comeback in regular-season history ended on the back of a 25-point divisional road loss. The Falcons clinched the division and Walsh's second year took the kind of late chapter that complicates a clean read. The wins of the previous three Sundays do not get erased by Sunday's afternoon, and Sunday's afternoon is not a return to the schematic failures of weeks five and six. It is a divisional road loss to a team with playoff position to defend. The season ledger will reflect both halves of the closing stretch when it closes. Two games remain. The shape of the final two will set the year's narrative more than this Sunday by itself.
Fifteen-game profile. Three-game winning streak ends. Points differential minus-90. Atlanta's divisional sweep complete. Next: home against Buffalo, the regular-season finale.
The visitors were beaten by an opponent that had divisional positioning to defend and used the home half of the schedule to close it out. The Falcons' offense produced 35 on a defense that had three consecutive weeks inside the 17-points-allowed band, and the 49ers' offense produced 10 against a defense that has been the second-best in the division all year. The schematic read on this loss is different from the schematic reads of Los Angeles and Dallas earlier in the season. This was not a coverage collapse against a conference power on the road; it was a divisional road loss to a team playing for a postseason berth. The Walsh-style system did not break. It was outscored. Two games remain on the schedule and the closing-stretch record can still read 7-9 or 6-10, with the final two Sundays determining which. This second year does not get a final exam in one game. It gets one in the season's last two weeks.
| SF | Opp | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 15 | 26 |
| Total Yards | 310 | 463 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 25/42 | 24/34 |
| Pass yards | 222 | 300 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 3 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 3 | 1 |
| Sack yards lost | 18 | 8 |
| Net pass yards | 204 | 292 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 21 | 43 |
| Rush yards | 106 | 171 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties | 3 | 3 |
| Penalty yards | 15 | 33 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Joe Montana #16 | 25/41 | 222 | 1 | 2 | 63.3 |
| Freddie Solomon #88 | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| ATL | |||||
| Steve Bartkowski | 22/31 | 276 | 3 | 1 | 117.1 |
| Mike Moroski | 2/3 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 91 |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Earl Cooper #49 | 3 | 36 | 0 | 24 |
| Don Woods | 4 | 34 | 0 | 23 |
| Joe Montana #16 | 6 | 32 | 0 | 9 |
| Lenvil Elliott #35 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 5 |
| Freddie Solomon #88 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Jim Miller | 1 | -12 | 0 | -12 |
| ATL | ||||
| William Andrews | 18 | 105 | 0 | 22 |
| Lynn Cain | 19 | 66 | 0 | 15 |
| James Mayberry | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Steve Bartkowski | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Anthony Anderson | 1 | -4 | 0 | -4 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Dwight Clark #87 | 9 | 90 | 1 | 19 |
| Freddie Solomon #88 | 3 | 67 | 0 | 31 |
| Lenvil Elliott #35 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 17 |
| Don Woods | 2 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Charle Young | 2 | 9 | 0 | 7 |
| Eason Ramson | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Earl Cooper #49 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| James Owens | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| ATL | ||||
| Wallace Francis | 4 | 148 | 2 | 81 |
| William Andrews | 7 | 62 | 0 | 15 |
| Junior Miller | 6 | 55 | 1 | 11 |
| Alfred Jenkins | 2 | 21 | 0 | 16 |
| Alfred Jackson | 1 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| James Mayberry | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Lynn Cain | 1 | -5 | 0 | -5 |
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Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1980 W15 - 49ers at Atlanta Falcons - Game Thread