What We Saw: Week 6

The What We Saw team recaps everything you missed from Sunday's action

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What We Saw 2 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Commanders @ Bears
49ers @ Falcons
Patriots @ Browns
Jets @ Packers
Jaguars @ Colts
Vikings @ Dolphins
Bengals @ Saints
Ravens @ Giants
Buccaneers @ Steelers
Panthers @ Rams
Cardinals @ Seahawks
Bills @ Chiefs
Cowboys @ Eagles

49ers @ Falcons

Final Score: Falcons 28, 49ers 14

Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

The Atlanta Falcons under Arthur Smith‘s expert leadership took care of a disappointing San Francisco 49ers team 28-14 on the back of a Marcus Mariota masterclass at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mariota went off for two touchdowns through the air and one on the ground to dismantle a 49ers defense that was missing their entire starting defensive line. Smith conjured up an offensive masterplan to completely out-coach former Falcons Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan, whose coaching decisions will once again come under scrutiny as he failed to adapt to Atlanta taking away the middle of the field for his quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo. Jimmy G threw two interceptions and was dreadful in intermediate to deep situations as per usual. An ineffectual running game sealed the 49ers fate. All credit to the Falcons, however, who played hard on defense and took their opportunities where it counted. And for fantasy managers everywhere, we even had a Kyle Pitts touchdown…

 

San Francisco 49ers

 

Quarterback

 

Jimmy Garoppolo: 29/41, 296 Yards, 2 TD, 2 INT | 3 Carries, 11 Yards

 

“Do you like screen passes?” Fire this offense into the sun, seriously! A terrible Jimmy Garoppolo performance was backed up by a dreadful day of play calling from Kyle Shanahan, which condemned this predictable, one-dimensional offense to another bad defeat in 2022. We know who Jimmy G is and what his limitations are, but we can now start to say the same about Shanahan, who does not seem to be able to find a way for his team to win when they can’t dominate the middle of the field. Garoppolo had joy in his comfort zone, but when that was taken away he struggled mightily. His two touchdown throws were both screen passes to Brandon Aiyuk, who did all the hard work.

 

But his second half was filled with poor throws, indecision and old bad habits – from both coach and quarterback – that was summed up by a tedious 16-play, 80-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock and ended in a failed fourth-down conversion at the Falcons 19-yard line. Garoppolo throwing behind Deebo Samuel to effectively end the game. Grim.

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It’s not so bad for fantasy purposes, with Jimmy G picking up a handy 18.94 fantasy points (in Yahoo! leagues) – his best score of the season, but it was awful to watch. Still, he is likely to continue in this fashion going forward. His first turnover was a nothing throw at the end of the first half as time expired.

 

But his second had everything that has become synonymous with Jimmy G in his time in San Francisco. With the game on the line, he unloads a high throw down the middle under pressure that was tipped and ended up in the arms of the defense. We’ve seen this film before. Yuck!

 

Running Back

 

Jeff Wilson Jr.: 7 Carries, 25 Yards | 1 Target | 1 Fumble (Lost)

Tevin Coleman: 4 Carries, 3 Yards

Kyle Juszczyk: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 33 Yards

 

The 49ers have really struggled with the rushing attack since Mike McDaniel left for Miami. Despite a few coaching tweaks, this showing highlighted the issues clearly – poor offensive line run-blocking, a lack of talent on outside zone plays, and ball security issues. Jeff Wilson Jr. fumbled on a third and short on the 49ers second drive of the day that was returned for a defensive touchdown and it proved to be a key moment as San Francisco had to play from behind for the majority of the game, a situation they are not comfortable with. It looks like Wilson would have been short of the line to gain even if he had held onto the ball.

 

Down in a big hole, Shanahan virtually abandoned the run game and concentrated on his “death-by-a-thousand-check-downs” strategy, which left little for Wilson and Tevin Coleman to feed on. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk had his customary sprinkle of effective plays but the fullback has never been a reliable fantasy option due to the unpredictability of his usage – he is also touchdown dependant. It’s hard to have much confidence in this run game if the 49ers struggled to dictate games, which may be the case given their frailties on both sides of the ball.

2022 NFL Draft third-round pick Tyrion Davis-Price played one snap, as a blocker for a run play for Samuel. Hmmm.

 

Wide Receiver / Tight End

 

Brandon Aiyuk: 11 Targets, 8 Receptions, 83 Yards, 2 TD

George Kittle: 10 Targets, 8 Receptions, 83 Yards

Deebo Samuel: 2 Carries, 11 Yards | 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 79 Yards

Jauan Jennings: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards

Ray-Ray McCloud III: 1 Target

Charlie Woerner: 1 Target

 

This offense is good for one thing – fantasy PPR points! Garoppolo threw the ball 41 times and relied heavily on his receivers to make yardage after the catch to be effective. Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk were all peppered with targets on short-to-intermediate routes, all three coming away with healthy fantasy outputs on the day. Aiyuk scored his second touchdown of the day on yet another screen pass to draw the 49ers level prior to the half.

 

After scoring just one touchdown in the first five games, it was a breakout day for Aiyuk, who seemed to be the focal point of the 49ers offense for the first time this season. Aiyuk and Samuel both have elite speed but it has been Deebo who has grabbed the headlines. Samuel was efficient but never got the opportunity to make the big play he loves in this game. His day was salvaged by two late fourth quarter catches – he had a 21-yard reception on the 49ers final play of the day, and this tough catch and run on the drive prior that the 49ers turned over on downs.

 

Kittle too mustered 30 cheap yards on the final drive as he was generally targeted between the hashes and well short of first down territory. Garoppolo missed Kittle on a throw to the back of the end zone as he was running towards the sideline in the second half, with the big tight end looking extremely frustrated afterward. Kittle is still without a touchdown grab this season.

The only missed opportunity for this offense was Ray-Ray McCloud dropping Jimmy G’s only accurate deep ball for a huge gain at the start of the second half. Didn’t they draft healthy scratch Danny Gray for those moments though? Bad coaching.

 

Atlanta Falcons

 

Quarterback

 

Marcus Mariota: 13/14, 129 Yards, 2 TD, 2 Sacks | 6 Carries, 50 Yards, TD

 

The stat line might not seem the most flashy but Marcus Mariota was the star of this football game. Making things happen through the air and on the ground at key moments, Mariota was full of confidence and is playing the best football of his career. He threw 49 of his 129 total passing yards on the first drive of the game, linking up with Olamide Zaccheaus for a 37-yard catch and run, the biggest passing play of the day from either team. Mariota playing the 49ers at their own game by exposing Fred Warner‘s poor coverage across the middle of the park.

 

He then finished up the 11-play, 74-yard touchdown drive with a lovely play-fake and lob to where only backup tight end MyCole Pruitt could grab it.

 

Mariota then masterminded another touchdown drive just prior to the half after the 49ers had even the score up. He had a number of key runs on the drive and his 15-yard scramble out of the pocket on third and long was one of the crucial plays of the game. Mariota avoided the blitz before once again taking advantage of a hesitant Warner to move the chains.

 

It was only fitting that the former Raiders and Titans quarterback ran the ball in himself, taking the outside route to burn rookie cornerback Samuel Womack III.

 

Mariota iced the game in the third quarter with yet another determined 20-yard dash deep into 49ers territory. A nice slant to tight end Kyle Pitts giving the Falcons back their two-touchdown lead.

 

Mariota is only 14% rostered and doesn’t have a bye until Week 14. He will be a popular streaming option with the Bengals, Chargers and two contests against the Panthers to come.

 

Running Back

 

Caleb Huntley: 16 Carries, 59 Yards

Tyler Allgeier: 15 Carries, 51 Yards

Avery Williams: 2 Carries, 6 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards

Keith Smith: 1 Carry, 2 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

 

The loss of Cordarrelle Patterson has hurt this team but with Mariota taking more responsibilities to move the chains with his legs it has relegated backup options Caleb Huntley and Tyler Allgeier to tough work in the trenches. Both Huntley and Allgeier were workmanlike if unspectacular, splitting carries 16-15 and both failing to nudge above 3.7 yards per carry. It was also notable that neither saw a target out of the backfield.

Huntley was the most effective of the two runners and his determined 16-yard run at the end of the first half setup Mariota’s go-ahead rushing score. He also saw the only carries inside the red zone on a couple of drives.

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Wide Receiver / Tight End

 

Olamide Zaccheaus: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 58 Yards

Drake London: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 40 Yards

Kyle Pitts: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 19 Yards, TD

MyCole Pruitt: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 2 Yards, TD

 

Well, there is nothing much to write home about here outside of the two touchdown grabs that were pretty straightforward. With Olamide Zaccheaus leading the team alongside Drake London in targets, this is very much a pass-if-we-must offense with Mariota under centre. First-round rookie London did make two lovely grabs and it is clear he has WR1 talent.

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Oh, and whoop whoop about Kyle Pitts. Don’t expect to get used to it. Sorry! The dirty bird was good though.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Commanders @ Bears
49ers @ Falcons
Patriots @ Browns
Jets @ Packers
Jaguars @ Colts
Vikings @ Dolphins
Bengals @ Saints
Ravens @ Giants
Buccaneers @ Steelers
Panthers @ Rams
Cardinals @ Seahawks
Bills @ Chiefs
Cowboys @ Eagles

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