Falcons show their identity in win over 49ers: ‘Resiliency to its fullest’

ATLANTA — The Falcons’ offense took the field and entered victory formation to put the finishing touches on its biggest win this season, but star receiver Drake London was preoccupied.

Nearly 50 yards away from the snap, standing on the Falcons’ sideline, London hugged, high-fived and celebrated with Atlanta’s defensive players, the group that saved the day and sealed the Falcons’ 29-20 upset over the previously unbeaten 49ers on Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

London spent extra time with rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels. They hugged, talked and dapped. Last week, Daniels was stretchered off the field and taken to the hospital with a neck injury. This week, he had a team-high 11 tackles and made two game-winning plays with an interception and fumble recovery in the final three minutes.

The Falcons viewed Sunday’s game as a chance to prove their identity. London said Daniels embodied it best.

“That is our identity, what he just showcased right there,” London said postgame. “Resiliency to its fullest.”

The Falcons had no shortage of instances.

Kicker Nick Folk missed his first extra point in nearly three years, then made a pair of field goals, including a game-sealing 31-yarder. Tight end Nick Muse had one career catch and none since the 2023 season, then caught two passes and a touchdown Sunday.

Rookie receiver Zachariah Branch delivered a 61-yard kickoff return on his first try Sunday, one week removed from teammates consoling — and, in running back Bijan Robinson’s case, praying over — him after a muffed punt and fumbled kickoff. He didn’t dwell on it, because he knew that’s the first ingredient to things spiraling.

The Falcons, losers of two straight coming in, did the same. And coach Kevin Stefanski said they imprinted their brand of football on the 49ers, who entered Sunday as one of the NFL’s last three unbeatens.

“Identity is a good word,” Stefanski said postgame. “Because, listen, you can talk about it until you’re blue in the face and you can put it on a T-shirt, but we’ve got to go do it. We’ve got to go be who we say we are, and I thought today we did that.”

The Falcons spent the week preaching complementary football. They played it Sunday.

Consider Branch’s kick return, when he sprinted to the sideline with a convoy of teammates celebrating with him. There were offensive players, defensive players and, at the end of his trip, special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman.

It was a three-phase party and a fitting tone-setter.

Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw three touchdowns and led four consecutive scoring drives between the second quarter and start of the fourth quarter. The Falcons’ defense held the 49ers to their lowest point total this season. Atlanta’s special teams coverage units didn’t allow any explosive plays.

That, the Falcons said, is their style. Last week, they trailed 14-3 and couldn’t overcome it. This week, they stared the same deficit in the eye and rallied.

“We just started playing our brand of football,” Penix said. “Just complementary football: special teams made big plays, offense made big plays, and defense made big plays. So it’s just all across the board. All three phases of our team helped each other win this game today.”

The Falcons posted their second-lowest rushing tally at 82 yards on 29 carries, but left guard Matthew Bergeron told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he felt the team ran the ball well enough to complement the passing game.

Atlanta’s offensive line took a step forward, too. Penix didn’t get hit, much less take a sack. Last week, he was sacked five times. Communication improved up front. Blitzes were picked up. Penix had time to throw, and although he didn’t often push the ball downfield, his 25 completions were the second-most in his career.

Bergeron took pride in his quarterback having a clean jersey at game’s end.

“Definitely a good stat for the O-line,” he said. “Last week, we didn’t do a good enough job with protection. That was our main focus this week, just dialing in on our technique and just really focusing on protection.”

Speaking of stats, the Falcons spent much of this offseason preaching turnover margin. Stefanski said he feels it’s one of the biggest correlations to winning games. The Falcons dominated on Sunday.

The 49ers committed four turnovers — quarterback Brock Purdy threw two interceptions, and the team lost a pair of fumbles — while the Falcons had zero giveaways.

“Plus-four in the turnover margin is where it starts, (and) really could finish there,” Stefanski said. “When you’re playing a good team, great coaches, great players on that side, you have to be about your business and take care of the rock. We took care of it, we took it away.

“That’s a great recipe for winning in this league. We need to understand that in these ballgames and that’s how it goes.”

The Falcons don’t quite have a defined catchphrase yet, but they’ve tapped into buzzwords such as playing fast, physical and free. Their defense embodied it Sunday. After the 49ers rushed for 105 yards in the first half, Atlanta went into its locker room, regrouped and, outside linebacker Samson Ebukam told the AJC, collectively came out with more aggression.

San Francisco totaled only 18 rushing yards in the second half, during which the Falcons forced three turnovers.

“We want to be able to make the big plays, game-changing plays,” defensive tackle Maason Smith said postgame. “We want to continue on that road throughout the rest of the season.”

The Falcons’ motto entering Sunday, cornerback A.J. Terrell said, was finishing. They blew a 23-15 lead inside the final minute and lost in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5, then faced an identical 8-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears in Week 6 and couldn’t erase it.