Aside from hanging onto momentum that seemingly was going somewhere — until Sunday night — the Falcons now have to monitor Michael Penix Jr.’s health as they prepare to face Miami on Sunday.
The team’s starting quarterback suffered a bone bruise during the fourth quarter of Atlanta’s 20-10 loss to the 49ers and could appear on the injury report following Wednesday’s practice, head coach Raheem Morris said Monday.
“He’s day to day. He came in and saw our doctors today, and there’s definitely some types of limitations,” Morris said. “He’s sore, but I really feel good about him. He’s as tough as it gets. I can’t wait to see where he is on Wednesday.”
Penix completed 21 of 38 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers while falling to 4-5 as the Falcons starter dating back to last season. He is 27th in the league in EPA per dropback (minus-0.02) and completion percentage (61 percent) this season.
While acknowledging that Penix didn’t play his best Sunday, Morris said, “I love where his development is. He’ll continue to get better.”
The injury news is not as promising for middle linebacker Divine Deablo, who is “week to week” after suffering a fractured forearm Sunday, Morris said. “We’ll hopefully get him back some time this year.”
Second-year linebacker JD Bertrand replaced Deablo on Sunday and tied for the team lead with 10 tackles.
Bertrand “is such a smart player,” linebacker Kaden Elliss said. “We’ll be good with him.”
Wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, who was a healthy scratch the last two games and is not practicing with the team, remains in limbo.
“Going through that process right now, talking to him, but that’s a distraction that I’m dealing with, no one else,” Morris said Monday.
Man down
A defensive tackle was missing from the field on the critical third-and-13 that San Francisco converted in the fourth quarter Sunday, Morris said Monday, but that particular position shouldn’t have impacted that play to that degree, the coach said.
“With third-and-13, that shouldn’t matter, you should still get off the grass,” he said. “If it had been a corner or a deep dropper, I would have called a timeout. Or if it had been third-and-1 with a defensive lineman missing, I would have called timeout.”
Drake London had significantly fewer targets against the 49ers than he did against the Bills a week prior. (Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)
An ominous preview?
The 49ers played man defense against Atlanta on 35 percent of the Falcons’ offensive snaps, according to TruMedia, the highest rate of any opponent this year. And Atlanta should expect that trend to continue unless it can get some more help from a wide receiver other than Drake London. The Falcons are averaging 4.6 yards per play against man this season, which ranks 26th in the league. They are averaging 6.1 yards per play against zone, which ranks 11th in the league.
Drake London’s most important role
The eye test would suggest Atlanta throw more to London. The fourth-year receiver got 16 targets in Atlanta’s impressive Week 6 win over the Bills and just 10 (with only four catches) in Sunday’s ugly loss to the 49ers.
“We have to find a way to get him the ball, and we will,” Penix said afterward.
However, a deeper dive suggests that the quality of London’s receptions is much more important than his volume of targets. London has gotten more than 10 targets in a game 13 times in his career, and the Falcons have only won three of those games, according to TruMedia.
A better indicator of success for Atlanta is London’s yards per reception. When he has had more than 15.5 yards per catch in his career, the Falcons are 7-4-1. They are 3-0 this year when he has more than 12 yards per catch and 0-3 when he has fewer than 12 yards per catch.
What’s next?
Atlanta has the seventh-easiest remaining schedule in the league based on their opponents’ current winning percentage, according to Tankathon. The Falcons’ next six games are against Miami (1-6), at New England (5-2), versus Indianapolis (6-1) in Germany, Carolina (4-3), at New Orleans (1-6) and at the New York Jets (0-7).
The streak lives
It looks like Jake Matthews will make it to consecutive start No. 185, at least. The Falcons left tackle felt good coming out of Sunday night’s game, for which he was questionable due to a high ankle sprain.
“I’m thankful for the staff here and everyone who helped me get ready to go,” Matthews said. “I thought I had enough to go and get the job done today. That part of it went well, but the not winning part kills the mood. (I) want to get back next week and win.”
Matthews allowed one pressure and no sacks on 43 pass-blocking snaps against the 49ers, according to TruMedia.
Extra points
The Falcons are 3-0 this season when they run the ball more than 30 times and 0-3 when they run it fewer than 30 times. … Atlanta is seventh in the league in yards per game (364.3) but 24th in drive score rate (34.9 percent) and 27th in touchdown-per-drive rate (17.5 percent). The five teams below them in touchdown percentage have won a combined six games. … The Falcons have lost six of their last eight road games.