The San Francisco 49ers Week 6 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons seemed to be the perfect time for them to take control of the NFC West. They held a one game lead over their division foes heading into the action, and they could have cemented their status as the team to beat in the West with a win on Sunday. Instead, they ended up putting together an ugly outing against the Falcons, and lost by a score of 28-14.

This game continues a strange trend for the 49ers this season in which they look dominant in some contests, and horrible in others. Their offense couldn't get out of their own way in this one, and the Falcons gradually wore down San Fran's defense as the game went on. By the end of it, the Niners were left scratching their heads, wondering where things went wrong.

San Francisco had a lot of players struggle to make an impact in this game, but it's clear that three players stood out in this contest for all the wrong reasons. Let's take a look at who those players are and see why their poor play hurt the 49ers so badly in this crucial game against the Falcons.

3. Samuel Womack III

The 49ers defense was shorthanded for this contest, with Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, and Jimmie Ward all being forced to sit on the sidelines. Charvarius Ward also was forced out of the game early, which forced Samuel Womack III into more action than initially expected. Womack didn't do too well, and his struggles hurt San Fran's beaten up defense pretty significantly.

The Falcons didn't do much in the air throughout this game, and they spent most of the afternoon running the ball all over the 49ers defense. But when they passed, they had success, and Womack was often the guilty party. Womack didn't do much to contain either Olamide Zaccheaus or Drake London, and he was in coverage of Kyle Pitts on his touchdown, which proved to be a big play in the game.

Womack's struggles likely won't help his case for more playing time, but head coach Kyle Shanahan won't really have another option to turn to if Ward is forced to miss time. Womack wasn't the only defender who didn't show up in this game, but his struggles in coverage made it nearly impossible for the defense to get off the field, earning him a spot on this list.

2. Jimmy Garoppolo

Jimmy Garoppolo didn't have a horrible game under center, but he's a big reason why San Francisco's offense couldn't get the ball in the end zone in this game. Garoppolo's line is OK (29/41, 296 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT) and he relied heavily on the trio of Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle throughout this one.

The problem is that Garoppolo only led two scoring drives on the day, and his own struggles were a big reason why. While one of his interceptions came on a deep bomb at the end of the first half, the other killed a drive that looked like it was going to lead to points. Moving the ball is nice, but unless it results in points, it's meaningless.

Garoppolo has had an uneven start to the season in relief of the injured Trey Lance, and while he's been serviceable, he's going to need to be much better moving forward if San Francisco intends on figuring things out. It wasn't the worst outing of his career, but Jimmy Garoppolo is going to need to be much better moving forward for the 49ers.

1. Jeff Wilson Jr.

Jeff Wilson Jr. spearheaded the 49ers lethal rushing attack in Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers when he picked up 120 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. For that reason, it was reasonable to expect Wilson to put together another strong outing against a vulnerable Falcons rush defense.

Instead, Wilson was a nonfactor throughout this game, picking up just 25 yards on seven carries. He also committed a fumble that Atlanta ended up returning for a touchdown, putting San Francisco in a quick 14-0 hole. Wilson wasn't very involved afterwards, and the lack of a ground game hurt Garoppolo and the passing attack pretty significantly.

With Elijah Mitchell still on the injured reserve, and no one else doing much of anything on the ground aside from Wilson, the Niners don't really have much of a choice other than to ride with the inconsistent running back. San Francisco could try to swing a trade for Christian McCaffrey on the Panthers, but for now, it looks like Jeff Wilson Jr. will hold onto his role despite his poor showing in Week 6, and he will need to get going if the 49ers want to bounce back from this tough loss.