ATLANTA — Sure, the 49ers were playing without a lot of starters against the Falcons on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But they might have been missing something else, too.
“You could use that as an excuse,” 49ers tight end George Kittle said when asked about all the injuries, “but we are the San Francisco 49ers.
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“We have a standard to play at. We play at a very high level with a lot of energy and 100-percent effort on every play. I haven’t watched the tape, yet, but I don’t know if we gave that today at every single position.”
The Falcons looked to be the more physical and energetic team on Sunday in their 28-14 upset victory over the 49ers.
Linebacker Fred Warner suggested the 49ers did not play at the level of aggression that made the team’s defense one of the tops in the league over the first five games of the season.
After the 49ers fell behind by two touchdowns in the third quarter, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans was seen gathering his players around for a talk on the sideline.
San Francisco 49ers
“He wants us to get going,” Warner said. “It felt soft out there. We weren’t knocking back. That’s on us. That’s something we can control.”
The 49ers were missing a bunch of regular starters on both sides of the ball: running back Elijah Mitchell, left tackle Trent Williams, defensive linemen Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley and safety Jimmie Ward.
Also, right tackle Mike McGlinchey (calf) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (groin) sustained injuries in the first half that kept them out for most of the game.
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Kittle said the team has to play at a high level every single snap or, as it proven on Sunday, a loss to a lesser team can happen.
“We’re down, how many ever, seven or eight starters,” Kittle said. “Or you can look at it as, ‘That’s a lot of young guys with an opportunity to go out there and make big plays and get their names known.’ ”