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With another dominant win in the books for the San Francisco 49ers, things are starting to look up in the Bay Area. After improving to 8-6 on the year with Sunday's big victory over the Atlanta Falcons, the 49ers seem to have to re-established their groove and are getting hot at the right time. Currently holding the sixth seed in the NFC, the 49ers need to win each of their remaining games if they're hoping to avoid another disappointing season while making a long-anticipated return to the NFL Playoffs.
In their journey to get back to the Super Bowl, the 49ers still have a slew of challenges ahead of them, but as they've started to get healthier and their star players have returned to the lineup, they're now out to remind the entire league that they're legitimate title contenders.
Let's now discuss the four biggest takeaways from the 49ers' convincing Week 15 win over the Falcons.
3. The offense is unstoppable when Jimmy Garoppolo doesn't throw any picks
Against the Falcons, Garoppolo was moving the ball around with ease and was laser-focused as he led the 49ers offense in commanding fashion. As he continuously found ways to utilize their deep and talented offensive unit, the team seamlessly picked apart the Falcons defense while playing at a highly efficient level. Not to mention, Garoppolo didn't throw a single interception. The 49ers are 7-0 this season when that happens.
With a series of downfield bombs and screen passes that threw the Falcons for a loop, Jimmy G was on his A-game and the 49ers offense was in control from start to finish. As they start to gear up for what they hope will be another deep playoff run, the 49ers will need more big games like this from Garoppolo.
3. George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Brandon Aiyuk have formed an electric receiving corps
With 159 receiving yards on 11 receptions between them, Kittle, Samuel, and Aiyuk have formed a stellar trio that's catapulted the 49ers back to being one of the league's best offenses. The speed, versatility, and catching ability of these elite deep threats have given opposing secondaries all kinds of defensive woes.
Kittle, Samuel, and Aiyuk enabled the 49ers to score more points through the air. If they can all stay healthy and maintain this level of play, then they will definitely spell trouble for the rest of the league in the NFL Playoffs.
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2. Balanced rushing attack against the Falcons
After an explosive performance from Jeffrey Wilson yesterday, the 49ers have now put together a deep and dynamic rotation in the backfield. Between Wilson, Samuel, and Kyle Juszczyk, coach Kyle Shanahan now has a multi-faceted approach to their running game that will give them a lethal offensive game plan to work with for the remainder of the season.
If they can consistently get strong rushing games from Wilson, this could give them a ton of depth and an exciting new look against defense-oriented squads.
1. Defense has been lights out during 49ers' recent run of success
Led by Fred Warner, Arik Armstead, Nick Bosa, and Jimmie Ward, it goes without saying that the 49ers defense has come up with some big stops during their streak of dominance. With all their star players coming back healthy and their defensive tenacity going up a few notches, there's no doubt that this hard-nosed bunch is never to be overlooked in any matchup.
Under the guidance of first year defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, the 49ers are starting to find their way on defense and shut down their opponents with ease.
