SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The San Francisco 49ers didn’t let a lackluster first two months of the season ruin their year, and on Sunday they didn’t let a poor start to their game against the Atlanta Falcons become more than just that.
The result was a 31-13 San Francisco victory that revved up the 49ers’ playoff hopes and cooled Atlanta’s surprising push for a wild card in an NFC that’s wide open in the middle of the standings.
Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 235 yards and a touchdown, and the 49ers (8-6) ran for three more scores as they won for the fifth time in six games. They scored touchdowns on four straight drives to make easy work of the Falcons (6-8) and remain in wild-card position as the sixth-place team in the conference.
“Guys were locked in today,” Garoppolo said. “You felt it throughout the week, too. It was a big game, NFC opponent, playoff picture and everything like that. It’s December football. We knew what we were in for.”
After stumbling to a 3-5 start, San Francisco has turned its season around by cutting down on turnovers, controlling the game on the ground and using a relentless pass rush on defense.