When the 49ers travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons Sunday, 49ers fans might want to turn off the TV.
This matchup could be a big basket of ugly.
The Matt Ryan-led Falcons are the NFL’s No. 3 offense and have playmakers at every position.
The Falcons are the highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 32.9 points per game. Quarterback Ryan has thrown 30 touchdown passes vs. just seven interceptions and is averaging a league-leading 9.8 yards per pass attempt. He’s coming off a three-TD performance last week in a 42-14 thrashing of the Los Angeles Rams – the only team San Francisco has beaten this season.
The 49ers – banged up, thin and battered – rank dead last in the NFL in total defense, giving up an average of 415 yards per game.
The Niners also are last in run defense, so the Falcons may be able to dominate San Francisco on the ground. Ryan may not even have to throw the ball much if the 49ers can’t show they’re better against the run Sunday.
The Falcons’ Devonta Freeman (791 yards, seven TDs and a 4.3 average) and Tevin Coleman (328 yards, seven TDs) give the Falcons a nice 1-2 punch as ballcarriers. They also can do significant damage on receptions out of the backfield. Freeman has 39 catches for 330 yards; Coleman has 23 catches for 353 yards.
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As Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com noted this week, Freeman and Coleman “have to be salivating right now.”
Niners defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil said this week that Atlanta’s offense will be an enormous challenge for his group.
“They’re as good of an offense as there is right now in the NFL,” he told Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. “(Ryan) is as good of a quarterback as you have right now in the NFL. They’re probably the most complete offense that we’ve faced all year.”
Kickoff for the game between the 49ers (1-12) and Falcons (8-5) in Atlanta is set for 1:05 p.m. in the Bay Area.
