Devonta Freeman Bullies 49ers on Two Touchdown Runs (Video)
The Atlanta Falcons were thrashing the San Francisco 49ers in Week 15, but Devonta Freeman was just bullying the Niners defense.
Matchups don’t get much more favorable than the Atlanta Falcons offense squaring off with the San Francisco 49ers defense. The latter has been one of the worst units in the league this season while the former has been one of the most lethal. While Matt Ryan certainly had his moments in Week 15, though, there wasn’t a more singly dominant player against the 49ers than running back Devonta Freeman.
Freeman has been a workhorse for the Falcons all season, even with the emergence of Tevin Coleman as a real weapon in the backfield as well. And when going up against arguably the worst run defense in the NFL, he wasn’t about to make life easy on San Fran.
Already up 21-7 late in the second quarter, Freeman asserted his dominance over the 49ers with an absolutely monster run. He came through a hole and was met by a host of defenders. However, not one could bring down the churning legs of the Falcons running back as he broke several tackles on his way to a score from nine yards out:
That was Freeman’s second touchdown run of the day, having opened the scoring with a five-yard punch-in early on.
However, Freeman wasn’t done bullying the Niners, though, later showing off a different skill. Late in the third quarter with the Falcons still holding a big lead, 31-13, Freeman went off tackle to the left. When he saw his hole, he turned on the burners to blow by the rest of the 49ers defense and find paydirt from 34 yards out:
Yes, that is horrendous tackling by the 49ers, but look at how fierce Freeman looks during all of that. He’s simply telling everyone for San Francisco to hit the weight room—and to find fifth-gear also, for what it’s worth.
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Not that anyone expected the Niners to stand a chance against the Falcons, but this is just an absurd level of assertiveness by Freeman and the Atlanta offense. When they’re in this gear, the 49ers don’t stand a chance at holding them under 40. Then again, the 49ers might not really be alone in that regard.