3 Takeaways from 49ers' Week 6 Loss vs. Falcons

Just when we thought the San Francisco 49ers might establish themselves as one of the top teams in the NFC, a trip to the Atlanta Falcons serves as a reality check.

San Francisco (now 3-3) looked nothing like a legitimate title contender on Sunday afternoon. It couldn't establish the ground game, Jimmy Garoppolo threw a pair of interceptions and the defense got gashed by an Atlanta rushing attack that was without Cordarrelle Patterson.

Instead, it was Atlanta that played like a potentially playoff-bound team, as it took a 14-0 first-quarter lead and surged again after allowing San Francisco to tie the game.

Cross-country trips can be tough, of course, and San Francisco remains in first place in the NFC West. However, things won't get much easier next week when the Kansas City Chiefs come to the Bay Area.

Sunday's loss showed San Francisco has a long way to go before it can be considered an elite team.

Here's what else we learned from the 49ers' 28-14 loss to the Falcons.

Under head coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers have developed a reputation for playing tough defense and grinding out games on the ground. However, they didn't really do either on Sunday, and the result was a lopsided loss.

San Francisco rushed only 16 times all game.

"I think if we would have had [16 carries] in any other game, it would have been the same results," Shanahan told reporters. "I think they controlled the ball very well. Then we got a little behind. I thought we needed to throw to catch up."

Shanahan's decision to move away from the run after getting down early was puzzling because it didn't mesh with the team's identity. Yes, the 49ers faced a two-touchdown deficit early, but, well, it was still early.

San Francisco ran four times before Jeff Wilson Jr.'s first-quarter fumble and then only 12 times the rest of the way. Perhaps more inexplicably, Deebo Samuel (5.5 yards per carry) only saw two carries all game.

The 49ers must be able to run the ball to be effective on offense. They must do a better job of sticking with the run if they hope to go deep into the postseason.

Here's why San Francisco must run the ball to be effective on offense. Garoppolo simply isn't the sort of elite signal-caller who can carry the offense when the ground game isn't working. The 49ers know this, which is precisely why they traded up for Trey Lance in last year's draft.

This was supposed to be Lance's team in 2022, but the fractured ankle he suffered in Week 1 reopened the door for Garoppolo.

Sunday's loss reaffirmed the idea that San Francisco is a limited team with the 30-year-old under center. He wasn't awful all game—he finished 29-of-41 for 296 yards and two touchdowns, but he threw two interceptions, one that actually mattered.

Garoppolo had a desperation heave picked off to end the first half. He had a second interception in the early fourth quarter that helped the Falcons salt away the game. In between the two picks, the 49ers had two drives that resulted in 24 yards, one first down and two punts.

When Atlanta took a 28-14 lead into the fourth quarter, the game was essentially over. Great teams with elite QBs never feel they're truly out of a game. With Garoppolo under center, the 49ers are not one of them.

San Francisco's defense still ranks first overall and second in points allowed this season, but Sunday's loss showed that a championship-caliber defense can easily be beaten by the injury bug.

The 49ers played without defensive stalwarts Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw and Emmanuel Moseley. During the game, they also lost cornerback Charvarius Ward to a groin issue.

With the unit playing at partial capacity, the defense looked a shadow of what we saw through the first five weeks. The Falcons racked up 168 yards on the ground, controlled the ball for more than 33 minutes and converted nine of 14 third-down attempts.

When the 49ers tied the game at 14 in the second quarter, Atlanta fired back with 14 unanswered points and then ground out the game from there.

Injuries are always going to be a problem in the NFL, and sometimes the best teams at the end of the year are simply the healthiest, but San Francisco's lack of depth was glaring against the Falcons.

If the 49ers hope to have a bounce-back win over Kansas City next week, they need to get their defense healthy in a hurry.