Whatever the San Francisco 49ers' Week 15 game plan for defending Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones was, it didn't work.
Granted, the Niners were awfully shorthanded heading into what had all the signs of a trap game against a 4-9 Falcons squad. San Francisco was coming off an emotional roller coaster of a contest against the New Orleans Saints the week before, then had to face off against Atlanta, which had been eliminated from playoff contention and was merely playing for pride and the spoiler role at this point.
Jones did a great job of handling both roles, too:
.@juliojones_11 called GAME. #HaveADay pic.twitter.com/eEpCDLMuTR
— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2019
The Falcons knocked off the 49ers 29-22, although the final six points were off the last-second scrum following the kickoff. The turning point was literally with four seconds left, as quarterback Matt Ryan hit Jones at the 49ers 1-yard line. The call on the field was initially ruled short of the goal line. Yet further review clearly showed the ball crossed the plane, and Jones ended up having his second touchdown grab of the day.
And that one turned out to be the game winner.
"He's pretty good," head coach Kyle Shanahan said of Jones after the game. "We'll look back into it, and I think we did have bracket coverage on him, which is two people on him. ...it looked like the second guy who had him was obviously too deep on him."
In total, Jones would finish with 13 receptions for 134 yards and the two scores. Atlanta would target him 20 times, too. No other Falcons pass catcher had more than six targets thrown his way. Considering Atlanta had only 290 all-purpose yards and nearly half of those came from Jones, it's pretty easy to understand why he was so crucial in the Niners loss.
The 49ers were without two of their top cornerbacks, Richard Sherman (hamstring) and K'Waun Williams (concussion), as well as strong safety Jaquiski Tartt (ribs). Atlanta regularly put Jones up against Sherman's replacement, Emmanuel Moseley, who had a noticeable disadvantage in the height department for this bout. Moseley is measured at 5-foot-11, while Jones is 6-foot-3.
Still, Moseley had a lot of one-on-one coverage against Jones, and it was a bit surprising to see the perennial Pro Bowler open in key situations.
Atlanta pressed its advantage here, pulling off the win as a result.
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.
