The 49ers’ first loss of the 2026 season came with a blunt diagnosis from Pro Football Focus: the pass rush went missing.
San Francisco fell 29-20 to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the defensive grades told the story of a unit that got neutralized up front by Michael Penix Jr. Only three 49ers defenders registered a quarterback pressure, a season-low total that stood out even more after San Francisco had piled up 27 pressures against Washington just six days earlier.
There were bright spots, though they came in different corners of the defense. Deommodore Lenoir led the 49ers with a 75.7 overall defensive grade, Fred Warner was sharp in coverage, and rookie safety Malik Mustapha turned in the day’s best tackling performance. But the front four never found a rhythm, and that left Atlanta in control of key stretches of the second half.
The pressure numbers were especially jarring. San Francisco’s previous season low was 14 pressures in Weeks 1 and 3, and its lowest total in any game during the 2025 season was five in Week 4.
Against Atlanta, that standard dropped even further. Dre Greenlaw, back from his one-game suspension, finished with the team’s best pass-rush grade at 62.9.
On the other end, rookie defensive end Romello Height posted the lowest pass-rush grade on the team at 48.1.
The run defense held its ground better than the pass rush did. Lenoir led the group with a 76.3 run-defense grade, while Warner and Greenlaw tied for the team lead with four defensive stops apiece. Sebastian Valdez, however, had the lowest run-defense grade on the unit at 40.2 over 38 snaps.
Coverage brought a more uneven picture. Warner was the best of the bunch, earning a 72.7 coverage grade while being targeted only once, on a 10-yard completion. Lenoir followed close behind with a 72.5 coverage grade, allowing one catch for seven yards on two targets.
Jack Jones, meanwhile, had a rough afternoon. He finished with a game-low 27.0 coverage grade after being targeted five times, giving up four catches for 39 yards and drawing a team-high two penalties, one of which was declined. He played just 22 snaps.
The tackling work belonged to Mustapha. The rookie safety posted an 87.3 tackling grade, the best mark on either team, and finished with eight tackles. Overall, the 49ers were charged with seven missed tackles in the game.
San Francisco enters its Week 8 bye at 6-1, looking to reset a pass rush that was erased in Atlanta and tighten up the coverage issues that showed up behind it.
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