The San Francisco 49ers defense put together a great effort on Sunday, holding off the Atlanta Falcons prolific offense in more ways than one. The defense gave up a lot of yards, but most proved inconsequential as the Falcons struggled most of the day to close the deal.
The big story would have to be the run defense. The unit shut down Devonta Freeman, holding the running back to 12 yards on 12 carries. The Falcons did not push the run particularly hard, finishing with only 14 carries on the day, but given what we've seen from Freeman thus far this season, it was an outstanding effort by the front seven.
Speaking of that front seven, we saw all sorts of different looks from Eric Mangini's defense. We saw a wide assortment of defensive formations, with several involving linebackers on the line of scrimmage. Mangini effectively threw out everything but the kitchen sink against a Falcons offense that entered the game among the top third in the league.
The most intriguing change though saw Tank Carradine benched for the game. He was the only player on the 46-man active roster who did not see a single snap. According to PFF's Jeff Deeney, Tony Jerod-Eddie took all of Tank's snaps in the sub-package, pairing up with Arik Armstead. This also led to Mike Purcell making his season debut, and getting 14 snaps.
The Tank Carradine era appears to be rapidly coming to a close. I would be pretty surprised if Tank is not released or traded this offseason. It always seemed like he was better suited as a 4-3 edge rusher, but even still, the coaching staff is clearly losing patience with him.
Julio Jones had a big day for the Falcons, catching ten passes for 137 yards. While he was very busy, his yards generally did not hurt the 49ers as much as they could have. The 49ers were without their two starting cornerbacks, and one reserve, which left Dontae Johnson and Marcus Cromartie in the starting lineup. Johnson had a couple particularly nice plays against Jones, using his height and leaping ability to get up and break up passes. It was one of those games where the numbers don't fully show it, but the secondary did good work to get the win.
Defensive Linemen
Glenn Dorsey - 30
Quinton Dial - 28
Ian Williams - 27
Arik Armstead - 22
Tony Jerod-Eddie - 22
Mike Purcell - 14
Outside Linebackers
Ahmad Brooks - 53
Aaron Lynch - 50
Eli Harold - 16
Corey Lemonier - 9
Inside Linebackers
NaVorro Bowman - 63
Michael Wilhoite - 42
Gerald Hodges - 11
Cornerbacks
Dontae Johnson - 64
Marcus Cromartie - 59
Jimmie Ward - 49
Chris Davis - 17
Safeties
Jaquiski Tartt - 64
Eric Reid - 64