Week 7 SNF Fantasy Football Preview : ATL vs. SF

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  • By Nathan Hernandez

    Last Updated on October 19, 2025 11:29 am by Jon Mosales | Published: October 19, 2025

    SNF – Atlanta Falcons @ San Francisco 49ers

    Point spread: ATL +1.5 | SF -1.5

    Moneyline: ATL +108 | SF -126

    Total: Over 46.5 | Under 46.5

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    Overview:

    The Atlanta Falcons came out of their bye week and took it to the Buffalo Bills and walked from the MNF Week 6 bout at 3-2 and looking like a much different football team than the one we watched get shutout 30-0 by the Panthers a few weeks back. The Falcons have emerged as one of the strongest defenses in the league and worst matchups for multiple positions for fantasy football, holding a great Bills offense to just 7 points in each half. WR Drake London and RB Bijan Robinson had titanic performances against the Bills’ shoddy defense, and look primed as elite fantasy options going forward. The San Francisco 49ers are fresh off a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6 and sit at 4-2 on the season, though with a negative point differential at -3 on the season. Anchored by superstar Christian McCaffrey, the team is getting by with a bunch of injuries adding up for their talented players on both sides of the ball. With LB Fred Warner joining DE Nick Bosa on season-ending IR, the Niners defense has become a favorable matchup for fantasy opponents, and should incentivize more fantasy points for their own offensive players. Thankfully, it sounds like the 49ers are starting to get healthier, with TE George Kittle expected to re-join the team on Sunday night. However, QB Brock Purdy and WR Ricky Pearsall were unable to get right for this game, but should be serious contenders to return after their Week 8 bye. QB Mac Jones is slated to make another start in the absence of Purdy, who has shown a great connection with his former-Patriots teammate, WR Kendrick Bourne.

    Quarterbacks:

    The big thing on my mind coming into this SNF contest was how the 49ers offense matched up against the Falcons’s defense that is ranked 6th in defensive EPA/Play. Unfortunately for us, it’s a matter of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object in this game. The 49ers are first in passing yards in the short and immediate areas of the field (passes with less than 20 air yards) in the NFL, by far, and Mac Jones is first in the NFL among QBs in passing yards per game. SF averages almost 270 passing yards a game from that area of the field, and are 12th in EPA/Play among other teams. The Falcons are among the best in the NFL in a lot of defensive categories this season, one of them being defending the short and intermediate field through the air, allowing 122 YPG to opposing offenses in these areas, 30 yards less per game than the next-closest defense. I think this is a game that will be a brutal test for Mac Jones, as the Falcons also dial up the blitz nearly 10% more than any other team in the NFL at almost 45% of the time, and the 49ers are 28th in EPA/Play against the blitz this year. However, with rookie pass rusher Jalon Walker ruled out for the contest, the 49ers may have a bit easier time weathering the Atlanta pass rush. Mac Jones is a backend QB2, who I’d rather leave out of lineups this week, though both teams are top three in plays per game in 2025, so there could be a ton of offensive volume to be had in this one. As for Atlanta’s Michael Penix Jr., I think he has a bit more of an optimistic outlook this week, given the momentum he’s riding from last week’s performance and all the talent that the 49ers are missing. The 49ers are down arguably their two biggest veteran leaders, and this year has seen the team rank 2nd in the NFL in rookie snaps on defense, and though they are well-coached, things could get sloppy on that side of the ball in a hurry. While the second-year QB has struggled on the road this year, Penix’s top target Drake London has a great matchup in this one, and I’d like to think Penix can get him going to get both of them on their way to another big fantasy performance.

    Running Backs:

    There really isn’t much to think about here with these two phenomenal running backs, who are likely in the Rushmore of the NFL’s most talented at the position today. Bijan Robinson is first in the NFL in scrimmage yards despite already taking his bye week off before many other teams and RBs this year. Bijan and the Falcons are far and away leading the league in yards-gained from runs outside the tackles, and SF is ranked 5th-worst in defensive EPA/Rush allowed going outside. Robinson is another automatic RB1 overall contender. While it should mostly be no different an outlook for one of the biggest workload hounds in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey. CMC is truly something of a unicorn, so he is basically matchup proof, though we know that the Falcons are going to limit his ceiling in this one as they appear to matchup really well against the battered 49ers. George Kittle’s return to the offense should give CMC a huge boost as a blocker but maybe takes away a couple targets a game, but he surely has plenty to spare with Mac Jones dinking and dunking when he can.

    Wide Receivers: 


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    October 19, 2025, 11:27 am