View the best images from the 49ers Week 9 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
The San Francisco 49ers host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9 of the 2015 regular season.
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Pregame Notes
The 49ers will be thin at cornerback on Sunday.
The team announced Tramaine Brock (shin), Kenneth Acker (concussion) and Keith Reaser (ankle) will be inactive. Joining them on the inactive list will be starting running back Pierre Garçon (foot), starting wideout Anquan Boldin (hamstring), plus guards Brandon Thomas and Ian Silberman.
Dontae Johnson and Marcus Cromartie will start at cornerback for the 49ers.
Kendall Gaskins will start for Hyde.
Nose tackle Mike Purcell is active and will make his 2015 debut.
Atlanta's inactives include: Cornerback Robert Alford, safety William Moore, linebacker Justin Durant, center James Stone, tackle Bryce Harris, wide receiver Leonard Hankerson and defensive end Malliciah Goodman.
Linebacker Philip Wheeler will start for Durant. Cornerback Jalen Collins will start for Alford. Safety Kemal Ishmael will start for Moore.
First Quarter
The 49ers won the toss and Blaine Gabbert got the ball first in his first start for San Francisco. After an illegal procedure penalty, the 49ers went three and out. Shaun Draughn got the start at running back and carried the ball for four yards on first down. Gabbert's third-down pass to Garrett Celek went for six yards, but it was four yards shy of the sticks. it led to a 58-yard Bradley Pinion punt.
Atlanta drove the ball into San Francisco territory on its opening drive. Matt Ryan connected on a quick pass to Devonta Freeman for a gain of 12 on 3rd-and-4 from the 40. Jaquiski Tartt broke up a Ryan pass intended for tight end Jacob Tamme and Jimmie Ward's third-down tackle led to a 44-yard Matt Bryant field goal.
Falcons lead 3-0 with 9:24 left in the first quarter after a 9-play, 46-yard scoring drive.
After a 34-yard Bruce Ellington kick return, the 49ers went three-and-out again. Pinion's next punt required the rookie to make a touchown-saving tackle at midfield after a 41-yard return by Falcons wideout Eric Weems. The long punt return did no damage. San Francisco's second-year linebacker Aaron Lynch made up for an offside penalty. He beat Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews with an inside move to sack Ryan on third down and force a punt.
Lynch now has six sacks this season. He had six in all of 2014.
Gabbert connected with Quinton Patton for a 41-yard pass on a third down deep in 49ers territory. Gabbert scrambled for 10 on a first-down run and was followed by Draughn with an 11-yard scamper to put the 49ers in the red zone. Faced with a 4th-and-1 from the 9-yard line, Jim Tomsula elected to go for it. Kendall Gaskins picked up one yard over right guard to move the chains and make it 1st-and-goal from the 8-yard line.
Second Quarter
On second-and-goal, Gabbert tucked and ran on a broken play and almost got into the end zone on the first play of the second quarter. Officials ruled he his knee was down at the 1-yard line before falling into the end zone. Gabbert got into the end zone with a perfect 1-yard play-action pass to tight end Garrett Celek to put the 49ers up.
49ers lead 7-3 with 13:41 left in the second quarter after a 12-play, 84-yard scoring drive.
Both teams swapped punts. Weems returned Pinion's third punt of the game out to San Francisco's 45-yard line. The receiver, however, was leveled on the sideilne by 49ers tight end Vance McDonald. It was a big-time hit.
Ryan hooked up with Tamme on a skinny post for a gain of 21. The 49ers defense came up with a key third-down stop as Tony Jerod-Eddie batted down a Ryan pass at the line of scrimmage. New cornerback Chris Davis also had execllent press-man coverage on Julio Jones on the play. As a result, Bryant came in and made a 36-yard field goal to cut into the 49ers lead.
49ers lead 7-6 with 6:05 left in the second quarter after Atlanta's 5-play, 27-yard scoring drive.
Rookie Trent Brown has entered the game at right tackle. Veteran Erik Pears has moved over to right guard. Jordan Devey started the game at the position; Andrew Tiller manned the spot during San Francisco's touchdown drive. On 3rd-and-3, Gabbert threw downfield on a back-shoulder pass to Patton for a gain of 21 to put the 49ers in field goal range. Gabbert's third-down pass to Jerome Simpson went incomplete down the left sideline. Dawson connected on a 44-yard field to extend the home team's lead.
49ers lead 10-6 with 3:20 left in the second quarter after a 9-play, 41-yard scoring drive.
Jerod-Eddie broke up another Ryan pass at the line of scrimmage, which led to a Falcons punt. Cromartie (facial laceration) was injured while making a tackle and was replaced at left cornerback by Chris Davis. Ellington's 17-yard punt return, which included some nifty cut-back moves, was aided by a 15-yard face-mask penalty on Falcons tight end Levine Toiolo.
Draughn continued to churn out yards. His 30-yard run, a career long, put the 49ers in the red zone. Gabbert got the 49ers back in the end zone with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Celek, who ran a perfect skinny post pattern. Celek's second touchdown of the game was a career high. He now leads the team with three receiving scores on the year.
49ers lead 17-6 with 1:09 left in the second quarter after a 5-play, 57-yard scoring drive.
The Falcons proved they can score with the quickness. A 54-yard Ryan pass to Jones helped get the visiting team in the end zone. Ryan completed a short dump off which Freeman took the distance for a 17-yard touchdown.
49ers lead 17-13 with :07 left in the second quarter after a 3-play, 78-yard scoring drive.
Halftime Notes
Gabbert is 10 of 16 for 115 yards with two touchdowns. Draughn leads all rushers with 50 yards on 10 carries. Patton leads the 49ers with a career-high 70 receiving yards and Celek has caught two touchdown passes. On defense, four players have recorded four tackles for San Francisco. Lynch has the game's only sack.
The 49ers have held Freeman in check on the ground. He has carried the ball six times for one yard. Jones paced Atlanta's offense with five catches for 91 yards. Ryan has completed 14 of 21 throws for 181 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
San Francisco has out-gained Atlanta 203 to 173 in total yards, while running seven more plays (35 to 28).
Third Quarter
Weems' big kick return put Ryan and Co. back in business at the 50-yard line. First-round draft pick Arik Armstead's third-down pass rush drew a holding penalty and eventually led to a Falcons punt.
Gabbert picked up a key third down with a 26-yard pass to Torrey Smith down the left sideline. San Francisco has converted 5 of 10 third downs so far. Gabbert's deep ball to Simpson was bobbled initially and intercepted by Falcons cornerback Philip Adams. The Falcons were flagged 15 yards on the return. The play was reviewed and the ruling on the field stood. Atlanta took over on its own 13-yard line. Two plays into the drive, Lynch was shaken up with an apparent ankle or lower-leg injury. He jogged off the field under his own power before a 3rd and 4 from Atlanta's 19-yard line. The Falcons drive ended in a punt. The Gabbert turnover did no damage.
Atlanta's 51-yard punt was downed at San Francisco's 3-yard line with 5:05 left in the quarter. The 49ers ran a pump-and-go backed up on own goal line, Gabbert hit Smith for a gain of 18 on a back-shoulder throw. San Francisco, however, was forced to punt after the Falcons tackled Ellington on a short pass.
Lynch, who returned to the field after a lower-body injury, appeared to injure his hand on a pass rush. Eric Mangini got creative, sending Tartt, Ward and Johnson on blitzes on three consecutive plays. Johnson's rush forced a throw from Ryan to Roddy White, which was broken up by Cromartie along the 49ers sideline. Falcons punter Matt Bosher came out for his sixth punt of the game.
Fourth Quarter
Wheeler was flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit which knocked Gabbert out of the game. The NFL's ATC official buzzed in to have the quarterback evaluated for a concussion. Colin Kaepernick entered the game and threw incomplete to McDonald on a deep corner route. Gabbert reentered the game for a 3rd and 10 from San Francisco's 35-yard line. Gabbert was flushed out of the pocket and elected to scramble for a short gain.
Following a Pinion punt, Atlanta had the ball 1st and 10 from its own 24-yard line. Tartt leveled White for a key pass breakup on second down. The next play, Bowman came up the middle and sacked Ryan to force a punt.
The 49ers went for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 46. Bruce Miller carried the ball for a short gain, enough to move the chains, but Falcons coach Dan Quinn challenged the ruling on the field. The call stood. Two plays later, Gbbert's sideline pass to McDonald was picked off by rookie Vic Beasely at Atlanta's 33-yard line.
Atlanta picked up a trio of first downs on its ensuing possession to get down to San Francisco's 20-yard line. San Francisco's red-zone defense toughened up. Johnson broke up a fade pass to Jones. Ward drove on a third-down underneath route and tackled Falcons receiver Justin Hardy short of the first-down marker. Bryant made a 19-yard field goal.
49ers lead 17-16 with 2:56 left in the fourth quarter after a 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive.
Gaskins carried the ball twice to set up a 3rd and 4 from the 26. Gabbert called his own number and slid safety as he converted on third down at the 2-minute warning. Gaskins rushed for eight more yards on first down, which resulted in Atlanta taking its final timeout. Gaskins converted another first down on the ground with a 2-yard run. San Francisco kneeled on the ball two times for the win.
Final score: 49ers win 17-16