8 Winners and Losers From 49ers' Week 7 Loss to Falcons

Despite playing sloppily for the majority of the game, the San Francisco 49ers were in it until the final minutes against the Atlanta Falcons.

Unfortunately, they couldn't get enough of their players to step up, leading them to lose for the first time this season, 29-20. Some players were close to having an amazing performance had they made a couple of extra plays. That said, here are eight winners and losers from the 49ers' Week 7 loss to the Falcons.

Winners

Christian McCaffrey

It looked like the 2025 season all over again when the 49ers leaned on Christian McCaffrey to carry their offense in the opening series. He was moving incredibly well, finishing the drive with a touchdown.

However, McCaffrey would exit the game later in the first half with a quad injury. Thankfully, he returned in the second half, rendering his injury minuscule. His exit initially caused concern, but since he came back and was fine, it's a tremendous win.

49ers' offensive line

It wasn't a tremendous performance from the 49ers' offensive line compared to every other game this season, but they still played very well against the Falcons.

They helped clear rushing lanes for McCaffrey and the rest of the running backs. Brock Purdy was also only sacked twice and pressured 10 times on 42 dropbacks. That's a pretty sound outing.

Mike Evans

Seeing how much of a step back the 49ers' offense took without Mike Evans was alarming. It's time to give Evans the credit for being the real MVP, and not Purdy. Their passing attack loses much of its lethality.

Evans' impact is second to none. Not even having Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson against Atlanta would've been the same as having Evans alone. This game cemented how valuable Evans is to the 49ers.

Losers

Raheem Morris

You would've thought Raheem Morris would've been locked in to play the team that fired him last season, but he wasn't. The 49ers' defense was fine up until the final four minutes of the second quarter.

From that point on, they weren't able to get enough stops against the Falcons' offense. They also weren't as fiery as they've been in every game this season. That falls on Morris as the leader of the defense.

Kaelon Black

Rookie Kaelon Black was so close to being a winner, but he wound up a loser because of his fumble in the second quarter. That fumble was the beginning of the end for the 49ers. They lost all of their momentum after that.

It's a bummer for Black because this was his breakout game. He rushed 12 times for 63 yards and a touchdown on a 30-yard run. However, once he fumbled, he only saw one more carry for the rest of the game.

Osa Odighizuwa

The 49ers were close to rendering Black's fumble moot, but Osa Odighizuwa, of all people, fell for the fourth-down trap, where an offense attempts to draw a defender offsides for a first-down conversion since there are five or fewer yards to go.

As a borderline elite veteran, he shouldn't have jumped, giving the Falcons a new set of downs and allowing them to score a touchdown in the final seconds of the half. That derailed the 49ers.

Jack Jones

It felt like every time Jack Jones was around the ball in pass coverage, he was drawing a penalty. The 49ers need to keep him buried on the depth chart and play rookie Ephesians Prysock. They gain nothing by playing Jones. At least Prysock gives them long-term growth.

Jordan Watkins

Similar to Black, Watkins could've been a winner, but his two best catches of the game didn't count, including the touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. If he reels those catches in, especially the touchdown, he would've been talked about as a savior today. Instead, it's just another game for him.

Brock Purdy

The MVP talk revolving around Purdy should sober up. He had his first mediocre game of the season, which isn't surprising. He's not working with much talent at wide receiver, but it also revealed that he's reliant on Evans to excel. Without Evans, he won't make many plays.

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