Falcons Strike Out In Red Zone Against 49ers

Atlanta Falcons couldn't take advantage of repeated chances inside 20-yard line

Heading into Sunday's matchup with the San Francisco 49ers, the Falcons were statistically a little bit better at scoring touchdowns in the red zone this season than last year when they were 26th.

But that marginal improvement came to a screeching halt against the 49ers. The Falcons scored just one touchdown on five trips into the red zone. On three of those drives, Atlanta failed to score any points despite getting inside the 10-yard line.

Leaving all those points on the field helped result in a 31-13 loss that all put erases any chance of Atlanta reaching the postseason in Arthur Smith's first season as coach.

Even if Atlanta had been extremely efficient in the red zone, it would have been hard to win. They because the 49ers outgained the Falcons 397-275. San Francisco averaged 7.1 yards per play, including 5.1 yards per carry while holding the Falcons to 2.7 yards per rush. The 49ers pummeled Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan as well, with three sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

Yet, the red zone tells so much of the story. While the Falcons scored only 10 points when getting inside the 20, the 49ers scored four touchdowns and all 31 of their points.

The Falcons' only touchdown was a 20-yard completion to Russell Gage -- a play that barely counted as a red-zone attempt.

In total, the Falcons ran 20 plays in the red zone and gained a grand total of 61 yards. Excluding the Gage touchdown, Atlanta averaged 2.2 yards per play in the red zone.

Atlanta's offense pretty much came from big passing plays. Gage had another catch for 21 yards, while Olamide Zaccheaus and Kyle Pitts each had a 49-yard reception. Those four passing plays accounted for 139 of Atlanta's 275 total yards (50.5%).

Long passing plays obviously can't happen inside the opponent's 10-yard line. That's where a ground game typically takes over, and the Falcons just simply didn't have that.

But the red zone troubles are nothing new for the Falcons. Atlanta hasn't finished better than 25th in offensive red-zone touchdown efficiency since 2018. The Falcons were 21st before Sunday, but they will likely drop when Week 15 games conclude Tuesday night.

San Francisco was first in red-zone touchdown efficiency at 72.97 percent prior to Sunday. That percentage will go up with the 49ers going 4 for 5 against Atlanta.

Behind their stellar offensive and defensive red zone work, the 49ers improved to 8-6 and are in great position to be one of the NFC Wild Card teams.

The Falcons dropped to 6-8 and into 11th in the NFC. Atlanta must now hope for chaos to make the playoffs.