Why Rich Is Not Concerned about the 49ers Coming Off Their 1st Loss of the Season

The 49ers were never going 17-0. Rich said it plainly after San Francisco's first loss of the season: "I'm not concerned about the Niners."

If you'd told him early on that the Niners would be undefeated heading into Week 7, he wouldn't have been surprised. The surprise was who finally got them. Then again, the game was in Atlanta, and for whatever reason, the Niners can't win there. Rich noted the last coach to win a game for the 49ers in Atlanta was Steve Mariucci. That's how long it's been.

Weird stuff happens to San Francisco in that building, and Sunday was a highlight reel of it. Christian McCaffrey left the game and went into the blue tent. Kaelon Black dashed one up the middle for a touchdown, then went right up the middle again and lost the football. Jordan Watkins came up with a circus touchdown grab that was overturned on replay because the ball moved as he landed, and the Niners turned it over on downs during that sequence. The Niners expected to be allowed to substitute on defense, they couldn't, it cost them, and Kyle was "going nuts on the sideline."

Rich walked through the Niners' second-half possessions: interception, turnover on downs, touchdown, interception, fumble. Multiple interceptions for a quarterback who hardly threw one all year.

On the other side, Michael Penix kept throwing touchdowns, and San Francisco couldn't get him on the ground. Rich found that wild for two reasons. The Niners had been getting quarterbacks down all year, and their defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, really wanted this one, going back to the place that told him his services were no longer required. Atlanta allowed a 9% pressure rate, its lowest in any game in four years. "He gets rid of it," was the read on Penix. To the Niners' credit, they held Bijan Robinson under 60 receiving yards and 65 rushing yards.

Brock Purdy owned the turnovers. "We got to protect the ball through and through," he said. "And that starts with me at quarterback." He called protecting the football "the number one thing really in our organization," and acknowledged that a couple of costly plays can make an offense feel like "we're not doing our job," even when it is moving the ball.

So why the calm? The schedule. The 49ers head into a bye, with the open question being whether Mike Evans can come back healthy, and the injury report still nags. As the crew put it, hearing the words "Achilles injury" can get you concerned. After the bye, they host the Raiders, visit a Dallas team that needs to straighten the ship, and then face Minnesota in Mexico City, billed on set as a true measuring stick against a defense like that.

The big one is Seattle. Win that game, hold serve at home, and last year doesn't repeat itself, when Seattle came into the Niners' house, snatched the division and eventually won a Super Bowl. There's also a home date with Philadelphia currently set for Sunday Night Football, which Rich figures could get flexed if the Eagles are "backing a U-Haul up" by then.

His formula: win the games you're supposed to win, hold serve against Seattle, stay healthy, which Rich admits is a tall order for this team, and rely on a quarterback who just had an off day.

As for Atlanta, rookie Kendal Daniels flipped the game. With Purdy looking like he might drive for a winning touchdown, Daniels jumped up, snagged it and took it the other way. Later Jessie Bates punched the ball out, and you know who recovered it? Daniels. He became the first Falcons rookie with a pick and a fumble recovery in the same game since 2003.

The Falcons have now beaten the Niners and the Packers. With the Bucs eviscerating Carolina and the Saints dropping to 2-5, Rich called the division wide open, and Atlanta can win it. Next up: a huge game at Tampa, then Madrid against the Bengals, then Kansas City at home.