The Atlanta Falcons sit in the driver’s seat in the NFC South and, with a favorable schedule in the final three weeks, are very much in the mix for a first-round playoff bye.
But they need to get healthy ahead of the playoffs.
The banged-up Falcons (8-5) kick off their closing stretch Sunday, when the lowly San Francisco 49ers (1-12) visit the Georgia Dome for the final time. This is the last season for the Falcons in the dome, before moving down the block to their new stadium for the 2017 season.
Wide receiver Julio Jones, who missed last week’s road win over the Los Angeles Rams with a toe injury, will be out again this week.
Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn reclassified Jones’ injury as a sprained toe. Quinn had initially described the injury as turf toe, which could have lingered much longer than the sprain is expected to.
“We’ll get him back here shortly,” Quinn said of Jones. “When he can explode like he does … the good news is it’s not something that’s going to be a long-term thing.”
The 49ers are battling their own injuries, with left tackle Joe Staley (hamstring/doubtful) and receiver Torrey Smith (concussion/out). Staley had started 92 consecutive regular-season games, before missing last week’s loss to the New York Jets. Smith is in the league’s concussion protocol and still needs to be cleared before taking the field again.
Even if the 49ers were at full-strength, they’d be hard-pressed to keep up with the Falcons, who boast the league’s most prolific offense, led by quarterback Matt Ryan, an MVP candidate. Ryan has already thrown for more than 4,000 yards with 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He threw three touchdowns and no interceptions against the Rams.
“Matt’s one of those quarterbacks that transcends any system,” San Francisco head coach Chip Kelly told reporters Wednesday. “It doesn’t matter, I really don’t think, what system he’s running. Although, the one he’s running right now he’s very, very successful in. I think he fits very well into what (offensive coordinator) Kyle (Shanahan) is doing. But he’s had a couple different coordinators and been successful with whoever was coaching him. That’s just the type of player he is. I think he’s an elite quarterback.”
Despite missing Jones and Sanu, the Falcons put up 42 points in the win over the Rams. The 49ers have scored a total of 47 points in their last three games combined.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick will start Sunday against Atlanta. Kaepernick has completed 54.8 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions, since taking over as the starter for Blaine Gabbert in Week 6.
“I think Colin has gotten better each week with us,” Kelly said. “The more comfortable he gets in our system, the more comfortable we are around him. … We’ve been pleased with Colin.”
Kaepernick has yet to lead a victory this season, though. Last week, San Francisco jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter against the Jets, but was held scoreless in the second half and lost their 12th straight game, despite a 193-yard rushing performance from Carlos Hyde.
“Once again, it comes down to our execution,” Kaepernick said. “We have to be able to make plays and we didn’t make enough in the second half to put points on the board.”
The Falcons lead the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers by one game in the NFC South and are within a game of the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions in the battle for the second seed in the NFC.
After Sunday’s game against the 49ers, the Falcons close out the regular season at the Carolina Panthers and at home against the New Orleans Saints. Atlanta’s three remaining opponents are a combined 11-28.
“Who we’re playing and where we’re playing — that’s kind of irrelevant, so to speak, because you want to just go and battle for it,” Quinn said. “(That’s) the intent of the players, that’s what we’re set out to do.”
