ATLANTA — The 49ers felt good about their overall team depth when the season began.
Six games in, their collection of reserves has been tested in ways the organization hoped it would never have to see.
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The 49ers — or what’s remaining of them — were outplayed on both sides of the ball in a 28-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
The 49ers fall to 3-3 on the season but remain tied atop the NFC West.
But their roster looks to be in sorry shape due to an abundance of injuries to key players with the Kansas City Chiefs next up on the schedule.
This was not the same dominant defense the 49ers showed for the first five games of the season because few of those players were available.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers gave up only 249.2 yards of total offense and 71.4 rushing yards entering Sunday’s game. On Sunday, the Falcons gained 289 total yards, including 168 on the ground.
Here is a look at the top three takeaways from the 49ers’ Week 6 game against the Falcons:
Injuries continue to pile up
Linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw were the only 49ers’ starters who were not injured or forced out of the game with injuries.
The 49ers continue to mount for a team that began the game without six of their projected starters in action: Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, Azeez Al-Shaair, Emmanuel Moseley and Jimmie Ward.
The 49ers sustained another big blow to their defense when No. 1 cornerback Charvarius Ward exited the game in the first half with a groin injury. He did not return.
On the offensive side of the ball, right tackle Mike McGlinchey sustained an injury to his left calf on a play in which fullback Kyle Juszczyk appeared to collide with him as he ran past him. McGlinchey did not return to action in the second half, either.
Safety Talanoa Hufanga exited the game after the first play but returned to action after being cleared after being evaluated for a concussion.
Defensive end Samson Ebukam went down early in the game with a right leg injury but returned to action.
Offense fails to pick up the slack
With all of the issues on the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers needed a continuation of the crisp offense that showed up for the second half of the Week 5 win at Carolina.
Aside from two drives in the second half, Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers’ running game were stymied.
Garoppolo got off to a hot start and helped the 49ers pull even after being down by two touchdowns.
Garoppolo hit wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk on touchdown passes of 12 and 14 yards.
But the 49ers still went into halftime trailing by seven points when Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota kept the ball on a read option and outran rookie Samuel Womack to the left pylon for a 3-yard touchdown run.
The second half was a mess for the offense. Garoppolo completed just 29 of 41 pass attempts for 295 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Worst first quarter of the season
The 49ers allowed only four field goals in the first halves of their first five games of the season.
On Sunday, the 49ers gave up two touchdowns in the opening 15 minutes — one from each side of the ball.
The defense provided little resistance for the Mariota-led Falcons’ offense on the first drive of the game. Atlanta got into the end zone to cap an 11-play, 74-yard drive.
Then, the offense handed the Falcons another touchdown, as the 49ers fell behind 14-0 after one quarter.
Running back Jeff Wilson fumbled on a third-and-1 running play. Cornerback A.J. Terrell scooped it up and returned it 21 yards before fumbling at the goal line. Safety Jaylinn Hawkins recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.