It’s unlikely that the Atlanta Falcons will catch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers atop the NFC South division standings, but they can make the race for the wild card spots in the division with a victory this Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, who are on an almost same predicament over in the NFC West. Check out our preview below of this Week 15 game between the Falcons and the 49ers.
It’s difficult to make a read on the Falcons. Although most NFL fans are aware that they are struggling this season, many of the same group of people might be surprised to know that the Falcons actually already have six wins. Atlanta most recently beat the Carolina Panthers on the road in Week 14, 29-21. In that game, the Falcons were carried by their rushing attack that produced 128 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries. Atlanta would have loved it more if they got better numbers from Matt Ryan, Russell Gage, and rookie tight end Kyle Pitts in the passing game against the Panthers, but they can try again versus San Francisco. The 49ers are sound defensively but are 29th in opponents’ pass completion percentage and 26th in defensive interception rate.
The Falcons are 5-1 again the spread in their last 6 road games.
After an especially disappointing loss to the Seattle Seahawks on the road in Week 13, the Niners got back up and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in Ohio last Sunday, 26-23. The game went to overtime, as San Francisco couldn’t keep its lead in the fourth quarter, but at least the 49ers got the job done to give them that winning momentum going back to Santa Clara. The 49ers, who are 3-3 against the spread this season in games after a win, might not have running back Elijah Mitchell again due to a concussion that kept him sidelined in the Bengals game. Despite that, San Francisco managed to rack up 100 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, thanks in large part to the versatility of Deebo Samuel. San Francisco’s defense had five sacks against the Bengals and is now seventh in the NFL in sack rate. That sounds like trouble for Matt Ryan and his pass protection.
The 49ers are 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games overall.
