The 49ers (3-9) host the Atlanta Falcons (3-9) at 3Com Park for a 1:00 PT kickoff. Both teams are 3-9 and looking for their first three-game winning streak of the year. Chris Chandler is the Falcons' starter; Jamal Anderson remains on injured reserve. Tony Martin and Terance Mathis are the receivers; Ken Oxendine is the back.
The 49ers come off the 44-30 road loss in Cincinnati. Jeff Garcia is the starter for the eighth straight week.[1][2]
Two 3-9 teams meeting at 3Com Park in December is the kind of football game that, in any year, the league's scheduling office puts in the late-Sunday window so the marquee matchups own the early slot. The 49ers and Falcons are both winless against teams above .500 in the second half. The Sunday's matchup is the kind of game where the staff that wins the line of scrimmage wins the afternoon. The Falcons' defense has surrendered 30-plus in four of the last six.
Week 14 has the Falcons-49ers matchup at 3Com plus a slate where the playoff field is largely locked. The Rams sit at 10-1; the Vikings 9-3; the Bucs 9-3. The AFC has the Jaguars at 11-1 and the Colts 10-2. The Browns are 1-11. Inside the NFC West the Rams are 10-1, the Falcons 3-9, the Saints 3-9, the Cardinals 4-8. The Sunday-night game is Kansas City at San Diego. Inside the division this week is the conference's only matchup of two NFC West teams below .500.
Through twelve games the 49ers sit at 3-9 with a minus 149 point differential, the conference's worst. Garcia averages 247 passing yards per game across six starts. Garner averages 84 from scrimmage. Owens has 60 catches for 822 across the first twelve. Atlanta is 3-9 with Chandler averaging 195 passing yards per game and Oxendine 3.6 a carry. Vegas opens the 49ers as 4-point home favorites.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 11-1 | -- |
| Tennessee Titans | 9-3 | -- |
| Baltimore Ravens | 5-7 | -- |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5-7 | -- |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-10 | -- |
| Cleveland Browns | 2-11 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 10-2 | -- |
| Buffalo Bills | 8-4 | -- |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-4 | -- |
| New England Patriots | 7-5 | -- |
| New York Jets | 4-8 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks | 8-4 | -- |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7-5 | -- |
| Oakland Raiders | 6-6 | -- |
| San Diego Chargers | 5-7 | -- |
| Denver Broncos | 4-8 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Rams | 10-2 | -- |
| Carolina Panthers | 5-7 | -- |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3-9 | -- |
| San Francisco 49ers | 3-9 | -- |
| New Orleans Saints | 2-10 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Detroit Lions | 8-4 | -- |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-4 | -- |
| Green Bay Packers | 7-5 | -- |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7-5 | -- |
| Chicago Bears | 5-8 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 7-5 | -- |
| Arizona Cardinals | 6-6 | -- |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6-6 | -- |
| New York Giants | 6-6 | -- |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-10 | -- |
Reveal each quarter as you watch, the next quarter stays hidden until you tap it.
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Charlie Garner 8 yard rush ( Wade Richey kick) | 0-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Fred Beasley 2 yard rush ( Wade Richey kick) | 0-14 |
| 49ers | Safety, Young sacked Chandler in end zone | 0-16 |
| 49ers | Wade Richey 23 yard field goal | 0-19 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Falcons | Winslow Oliver 58 yard punt return ( Morten Andersen kick) | 7-19 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Fred Beasley 1 yard rush ( Wade Richey kick) | 7-26 |
Charlie Garner ran for 107 yards and a touchdown, Fred Beasley scored on two short touchdown runs and the 49ers' defense held the Atlanta Falcons to seven points as San Francisco won 26-7 at 3Com Park. Jeff Garcia went 16 of 24 for 160 yards. Chris Chandler went 8 of 18 for 95 yards. Ken Oxendine ran for 15 yards. The defense produced three sacks and an interception. The 49ers led 16-0 at halftime.[1][2]
Charlie Garner ran for 107 yards and a touchdown. Fred Beasley scored on two short rushing touchdowns. The 49ers' defense pitched a shutout through three quarters and held the Falcons to one fourth-quarter touchdown. The 26-7 win is the kind of December afternoon that, in a 3-9 season, beat reporters file as the structurally cleanest sixty minutes of the back half.
The defense produced three sacks on Chris Chandler. Bryant Young registered his sixth sack of the year. The secondary, an issue across the back half, held the Falcons' starting wide receivers under 60 yards combined. The Sunday at 3Com was the kind of run-the-clock home game that the calendar's wild-card-mathematics-gone schedule should produce more often.
The 49ers walk away 4-9 with the road trip to Carolina next Sunday. The wire copy is going to spend the column on Mariucci's December outlook; one win does not change the trajectory but it does change the pregame conversation. The film room is going to spend the week on the defensive front's three-sack afternoon.
49ers 26, Falcons 7. Margin: plus 19. Record: 4-9, minus 130 differential.
A 26-7 home win over the Falcons. The 49ers improve to 4-9 with the cleanest single-game defensive line of the back half.
How it unfolded
The 49ers opened with a Wade Richey 38-yard field goal. A Beasley 1-yard touchdown run made it 9-0 after the extra point was missed. The second quarter produced a Richey field goal and a Beasley second touchdown to push the lead to 16-0 at halftime. The third quarter included a Garner 13-yard rushing touchdown to make it 23-0. Atlanta added a fourth-quarter Ken Oxendine 4-yard rushing touchdown for the only Falcons score. The 49ers added a closing Richey field goal to make the final 26-7.
The turning point
The first-quarter Beasley touchdown. With the 49ers up 3-0 and the offense facing fourth-and-goal from the 1, Mariucci called the fullback dive that produced the score. The 9-0 cushion put the home team in protect-the-lead posture early, and the defense held.
By the numbers
Garner 107 on 26 carries (4.1 ypc) with a touchdown; the highest single-game rushing line in five weeks. Garcia 16-of-24 for 160; his most-efficient afternoon as a starter. Beasley two rushing touchdowns; the fullback's first multi-touchdown game of the year. Defensively the front produced three sacks (Bryant Young 1, Junior Bryant 1, Chike Okeafor 1); the secondary forced one interception and held the Falcons to 192 total yards.
Personnel watch
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Jeff Garcia | 16/24 | 160 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steve Stenstrom | 1/2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| ATL | |||||
| Chris Chandler | 8/18 | 95 | 0 | 1 | |
| Tony Graziani | 1/9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Charlie Garner | 26 | 107 | 1 | 19 |
| Fred Beasley | 8 | 26 | 2 | 10 |
| Terry Jackson | 5 | 24 | 0 | 11 |
| Jeff Garcia | 3 | 18 | 0 | 11 |
| Travis Jervey | 2 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| ATL | ||||
| Ken Oxendine | 7 | 15 | 0 | 6 |
| Chris Chandler | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Winslow Oliver | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| Bob Christian | 2 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Charlie Garner | 5 | 62 | 0 | 22 |
| Greg Clark | 4 | 46 | 0 | 18 |
| Terrell Owens | 2 | 21 | 0 | 17 |
| Jerry Rice #80 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 9 |
| Fred Beasley | 3 | 14 | 0 | 9 |
| Mark Harris | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| ATL | ||||
| Terance Mathis | 4 | 58 | 0 | 36 |
| Jammi German | 2 | 24 | 0 | 14 |
| Ken Oxendine | 1 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| Rodrick Monroe | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Bob Christian | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 1999 W14 - 49ers vs Atlanta Falcons - Game Thread
