Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter laments the two second-half turnovers that stalled his unit against San Francisco in the NFC Championship game last season.
He will send a shell of that unit out to face the 49ers on “Monday Night Football.”
The Falcons were clicking as they opened a 17-0 lead. The Falcons held a 24-14 lead at halftime before being held scoreless in the second half.
Wide receiver Julio Jones, who’s on injured reserve, caught seven passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns in the first half.
“Well, we had two unbelievable turnovers in the second half,” Koetter said. “Roddy (White) slipped on that curl route and the ball was right on the money. Roddy slipped and (San Francisco nickel back Chris Culliver) picked it.”
The interception came on a second-and-10 from San Francisco’s 47 with 7:46 left in the third quarter. The 49ers didn’t score off the turnover as David Akers’ 38-yard goal attempt hit the left upright and was no good.
On the ensuing possession, the Falcons were down to San Francisco’s 28 when Ryan fumbled the shotgun snap from Todd McClure.
San Francisco’s Aldon Smith sped around left tackle Sam Baker and recovered the fumble.
“We hadn’t fumbled a snap all year,” Koetter said. “Two very unusual plays that cost us and costs us the possession of the ball.”
But, it’s the final drive that the fans remember. The one that stalled on San Francisco’s 10-yard line with 1:09 to play, 10 yards from the franchise’s second Super Bowl.
Injury report: Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud, who had started 80 of the past 82 games before sitting out last week against Washington, returned to practice on Wednesday.
DeCoud is in stage three of the league’s concussion protocol program and was available for non-contact drills.
Rookie Zeke Motta started for DeCoud against the Redskins. He finished with five tackles and a pass breakup.
Also, running back Antone Smith (knee), tight end Tony Gonzalez (toe), wide receiver Darius Johnson (right ankle sprain) and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (knee) did not practice.
Rookie corner: Rookie cornerback Desmond Trufant is attracting some attention for some rookie honors.
Trufant is listed sixth by profootballfocus.com in the running for rookie of the year award, in their weekly breakdown of rookie performances.
Trufant is listed behind New York Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson, San Diego wide receiver Keenan Allen, Green Bay running back Eddie Lacy, Detroit guard Larry Warford and Cincinnati running back Giovanni Bernard.
Trufant intercepted his second pass of the season against Washington. He said he should have five or six interceptions.
He leads the team and has set a club rookie record with 16 pass breakups.
Etc.: Wide receiver Harry Douglas, who caught five passes for 37 yards against the Redskins, is 37 yards away from his first 1,000-yard receiving season. …The 49ers lead the series against the Falcons, 44-29-1.
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