Sunday’s hurt, 49ers but had loss the good news afterward. Nobody got hurt and some injured players are set to make their return.
No one hurt, and some could return for Rams
Sunday’s game couldn’t have ended any worse for the 49ers.
However, minutes after they lost to the Falcons 2922 on a lastsecond touchdown catch, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s news conference couldn’t have started any better.
“All right, guys,” Shanahan began, “no injuries to report right now.”
Need a silver lining from a comefromahead loss to a fourwin team? That’s easy: The 49ers didn’t add to their laundry list of injuries, attrition that helps explain how they blew a late ninepoint lead at home to a heavy underdog and raises questions about their ability to launch a Super Bowl run.
On Sunday, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan directed touchdown drives of 75 and 70 yards in the final 10 minutes against a secondary missing Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman (hamstring), strong safety Jaquiski Tartt (ribs) and nickel cornerback K’Waun
Williams (concussion).
Without Sherman, the Falcons aggressively attacked his replacement, Emmanuel Moseley, who spent much of the afternoon unsuccessfully trying to contain AllPro wide receiver Julio Jones (13 catches, 134 yards, two touchdowns).
The defensive backfield could to be at close to full strength when the Rams visit Saturday night. Williams could return, and Sherman said last week he would return for the game, although it’s worth noting it might not be his decision: Sherman said Shanahan and the medical staff didn’t allow him to play against the Falcons. The 49ers haven’t provided a timetable for Tartt to return from a broken rib he suffered at Baltimore on Dec. 1.
However, the lategame meltdown wasn’t solely about the secondary. The 49ers had just two sacks, none in the fourth quarter, and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner acknowledged the pass rush wasn’t getting close to Ryan in crunch time.
“The last drive, we’ve got to make something happen up front,” Buckner said. “We know a lot of people depend on us to make something happen, especially the back end. We can’t put them in a bind like that.”
Of course, the 49ers also are dealing with injuries to defensive linemen and, unlike the secondary, help doesn’t appear to be on the way.
Edge rusher Dee Ford (hamstring) is out for at least the rest of the regular season, and Ronald Blair (knee), their top pass rusher off the bench, was placed on injured reserve last month. The 49ers signed Damontre Moore to replace Blair, but Moore’s season is over because of a broken forearm.
As a result, the 49ers recently promoted Jeremiah Valoaga, a 2017 undrafted free agent with one career sack, from the practice squad, and they’ve started leaning more heavily on Buckner, Arik Armstead and Nick Bosa.
In their past three games, those three have seen a significant increase in playing time. Bosa has played 91.1% of the snaps in the past three weeks after playing 67.9% in the first 11 games. Similarly, Armstead has played 90.2% in the past three games (68.7% in first 11 games) and Buckner has logged 87.3% (74.9%).
The increase is partly because of the fact the 49ers have played three straight games that came down to the final seconds. They had four wins by 24plus points in their first 11 games, which allowed them to rest starters in the fourth quarter.
The 49ers tacitly acknowledged Monday that they need another pass rusher when they reportedly placed a waiver claim on Terrell Suggs, 37, a seventime Pro Bowler who was waived by the Cardinals last week after he had 5.5 sacks in 13 games.
Suggs, who ranks ninth in NFL history in sacks, was claimed Monday by the Chiefs, who were awarded Suggs because they had a worse record than the other three teams who put in a claim: the 49ers, Seahawks and Saints.
The 49ers’ injuries are a reason their secondranked defense has dipped from suffocating to merely solid in recent weeks. They rank third in the NFL in sacks, but have just three in their past three games, and they haven’t had an interception in their past four games.
On Sunday, Shanahan acknowledged the short week, playing the Rams on Saturday, would be a test and called on his players start preparing immediately.
“They really need to be smart on how they live their life every single day right here,” Shanahan said. “Everything matters right now, and you get toward the end of the year, there’s not a lot of guys left — guys are wearing down.
“Everything is about right now, so our guys need to bring their best. It’s not just what you do on Sunday, it’s what you do every single day to prepare for Sunday.”
Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch