San Francisco’s defenders said only their attitudes and focus received a major adjustment after they fell behind so quickly against the Falcons on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.
Trailing 17-0 just a few seconds into the second quarter, the 49ers gave up one more touchdown the rest of the game to propel themselves past Atlanta 28-24 to win the NFC Championship game.
“It’s all about believing in who’s on your team,” linebacker Aldon Smith said. “If we didn’t do that, we could have pushed the panic button, but we believe in each other and know what we’re capable of and know our goals.”
After giving up 182 yards in the first quarter, San Francisco gave up 295 the rest of the game. Still, victory wasn’t secure until Ahmad Brooks and then NaVorro Bowman batted down back-to-back passes on third and fourth down on the Falcons’ next-to-last drive when they were just 10 yards from the end zone.
“We felt that pressure, but like we say in our locker room, when there’s more pressure, we give pressure,” safety Donte Whitner said. “And that’s what we did. We sucked it up, and when it came down to that last fourth down we got the football.”
San Francisco’s defense was stout this year, sending six players to the Pro Bowl. They gave up an average of 294.4 yards per game, third-fewest during the regular season.
But still, the 49ers were fortunate against the Falcons, taking advantage of two breaks that went their way.
On the first, with the Falcons leading 24-21 in the third quarter, Matt Ryan looked for Roddy White on 2nd and 10 at the 47-yard line. But White slipped coming out of his break, allowing Chris Culliver to intercept the pass and stop the drive.
Still leading by three after the 49ers’ field-goal attempt hit the upright, Ryan and the Falcons were again driving. Facing 2nd and 9 on the 28 and in the shotgun formation, Ryan took his eye off the snap. Smith recovered the fumble on the 37.
It was the Falcons' only two turnovers.
“Against a good football team like that you can’t have those kinds of mistakes,” Ryan said. “We moved the ball really effectively all day. We just had two chances where we were in positive territory and didn’t walk away with points. When you do that against a very good football team you’re not going to win.”
Defensive tackle Justin Smith, one of the Pro Bowlers, said his team made a few adjustments at half time with their zone coverages to explain part of their success.
He said he thought about how Seattle rallied after the Falcons raced out to a 20-0 lead in the first half of last week’s game. The Seahawks took the lead in the final minute, only to see Atlanta rally for the victory.
Still, Smith said the lesson was there. They were going to stay focused.
“You just have to stay with it, except we came out on top,” he said. "We stuck with it."
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