Falcons' Playoff Hopes On Life Support

Defense and running game falter for Atlanta in critical game

Falcons safety Duron Harmon wasn’t about to mince words after Sunday’s 31-13 washout at the San Francisco 49ers. Atlanta came in determined to put up a fight with its playoff hopes on the line.

Instead, the Falcons (6-8) were done in by poor execution and physically manhandled. They can just about kiss those postseason dreams goodbye.

“The mood is sour right now,” Harmon said. “I’m not going to lie. We let that one get away from us.”

The Falcons weren’t exactly on a serious roll in recent weeks, but had won two of three and arrived on the West Coast with a 5-2 road record. Atlanta was smack dab in the middle of the NFC Wild Card race despite its inconsistencies all season.

Now the Falcons are 11th in the conference with three games to go.

“The 49ers out executed us,” Harmon admitted. “Played the game the way they wanted to play the game.”

Atlanta had fared better defensively and running the ball as of late. Neither of those trends showed up against San Francisco.

The 49ers (8-6) racked up 397 yards on 56, averaging 7.1 yards per snap. San Francisco had 162 yards rushing.

Atlanta ran for just 62 yards after averaging 132.7 over the previous three games. The Falcons didn’t rush for less than 121 yards in any of those outings.

“They ran it,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “We didn’t.”

And the poor play in the red zone especially hurt. Atlanta had three trips inside the San Francisco 10-yard line that resulted in no points.

If the Falcons harbor any hopes of reaching the postseason, they have to put together a win streak. Atlanta has won consecutive games just once this season – beating the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins back in October to get to 3-3.

The Detroit Lions (2-11-1) come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium next week. A road game at the Buffalo Bills follows before finishing back in Atlanta against the New Orleans Saints.