Mariota sharp and confident as Falcons win
ATLANTA — Marcus Mariota doesn’t spend much time dwelling on the past, but this was a week the Atlanta Falcons quarterback couldn’t ignore.
Three years ago, at this very point in the NFL season, Mariota was benched by the Tennessee Titans.
“I knew I had to find my confidence to play at a high level,” he said. “When you get your confidence taken away from you, it’s tough as an athlete. That is truly the only mental weapon you have.”
His confidence growing with every game, Mariota appears to be getting his career back on track.
He threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another score against the NFL’s top-ranked defense Sunday, leading the Falcons to a 28-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers that left each team’s record at 3-3.
Mariota completed his first 13 passes of the game, throwing his lone incompletion on his final attempt. He finished with 129 yards through the air in Atlanta’s conservative passing game, and he rushed for 50 yards on six carries.
The 28-year-old was a backup the past two seasons for the Las Vegas Raiders, a stint that followed the end of his time with the Titans, who selected him No. 2 overall in the 2015 NFL draft after he won the Heisman Trophy his senior season at Oregon. The Falcons signed him this past spring after trading 14-year starter Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts.
“It comes down to just being able to have your opportunity,” Mariota said. “I will be forever grateful to this organization for allowing me to have that chance.”
San Francisco couldn’t overcome two interceptions by Jimmy Garoppolo and a fumble by Jeff Wilson that resulted in a touchdown for the Falcons.
Atlanta tight end Kyle Pitts made his first touchdown catch of the season and just the second of
his 22-game career — despite his 68 catches for 1,026 yards as a 2021 rookie — hauling in a 7-yard throw from Mariota that prompted Pitts to break out the vintage Dirty Bird dance.
Veteran tight end MyCole Pruitt, who was elevated from the practice squad for the game, caught Mariota’s other touchdown pass, a 2-yarder to cap an 11-play, 74-yard drive on Atlanta’s opening possession. Mariota bootlegged it in from the 3-yard line in the final minute of the first half as the Falcons broke a 14-14 tie to take the lead for good.
“That’s a real good defense,” Atlanta coach Arthur Smith said. “We knew we had to be efficient, and Marcus definitely was.”
Atlanta’s defense wasn’t too shabby, either. The Falcons made things tough on Garoppolo, limited San Francisco to 50 yards on the ground and even had a score of their own to build a 14-0 lead.
On a third-and-1 plunge into the line, Wilson had the ball knocked away by Atlanta linebacker Rashaan Evans. A.J. Terrell scooped it up at the San Francisco 21 and took off for the end zone. He fumbled trying to stretch across the goal line, but fellow defensive back Jaylin Hawkins gobbled up the loose ball for Atlanta’s second touchdown of the game.
“I was going to celebrate with him, but then I was like, ‘Oh, shoot!’” Hawkins said, describing when he saw the ball bouncing free in the end zone. “I just made a heads-up play.”
It was quite a day for Hawkins, who also had an interception.
San Francisco tied it with touchdowns on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, both of them on throws to Brandon Aiyuk. Garoppolo connected with Aiyuk on a 12-yard score, Atlanta’s offense went three-and-out, Ray-Ray
McCloud broke off a 35-yard punt return, and Garoppolo went to Aiyuk again for a 14-yard score.
That was all the points the visitors could muster, though, and the Falcons controlled the
clock by outrushing San Francisco 168-50 on a season-high 40 carries.
With top running back Cordarrelle Patterson on injured reserve, the Falcons are still producing in the ground game with a committee approach. Caleb Huntley led with 59 yards on 16 carries, and rookie Tyler Allgeier chipped in with 51 on 15.
“When we run the ball the way we do and make some plays in the passing game,” Mariota said, “we’re very tough to defend.”
Isaiah Oliver, in his season debut after spending the first five games on injured reserve, had the Falcons’ other interception.
“I thought we had a lot of opportunities, we just didn’t take advantage of them,” Garoppolo said. “Self-inflicted wounds, really.”
The 49ers were missing star defensive end Nick Bosa going into the game because of a sore groin, and by the end of the afternoon they had seven starters on that side of the ball sidelined.
“It truly does suck, but in the five years I’ve been here, I’ve seen it,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “Guys have to be ready to go and ready to win regardless of the circumstances.”