No Warner, no Bosa? No problem. 49ers meet the standard in shutting down Falcons

SANTA CLARA The event ended on fourth-and- with harried and hurried Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr throwing to no one in particular with second-year linebacker Tatum Bethune in his face on a blitz It was a fitting end to a - win by the ers at Levi s Stadium Sunday night an significant win for a organization with an improbable - record despite myriad injuries to key players Nick Bosa has been out since Sept with a torn ACL and will not return A second gut punch arrived last week when Fred Warner went out with a broken and dislocated right ankle He perhaps won t be back either even if the ers make it to the postseason Yet here were the ers shutting down a Falcons crew that piled up yards including yards rushing on a good Buffalo company the week before It was the fewest points allowed by the ers this season better than the - win in Week in Seattle when both of the ers defensive stars were in the lineup The ers bottled up Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson carries yards six receptions yards on a night when Christian McCaffrey reminded a national television audience how special he is They also rushed the passer with Bryce Huff and Sam Okuayinonu getting one each and the ers confusing Penix with an array of well-timed and well-executed blitzes When starting corner Renardo Green left with a toe injury Darell Luter Jr replaced him and did quality work Lucas played well in the slot and came up with a big play almost a pick-six by current up a pass intended for Drake London with to play The ers also used safety Jason Pinnock as a big nickel safety and left Deommodore Lenoir outside rather than play in the slot The ers established that all the faith they displayed during the week about Bethune replacing Warner was more than just wishful thinking or whistling in the graveyard He was as good as they thought he d be I love his passion for the challenge cornerback Chase Lucas explained I think Fred has done a great job mentoring him and I see him as a young Fred He s going to do a lot of big things in this league a lot of big things in this organization As Warner watched from a private box with his ankle in a cast along with wife Sydney and son Beau to thunderous cheers when shown on the Jumbotron the second-year linebacker from Florida State saw it as a homage to his mentor Bethune finished with a team-high tackles including one for loss He lost two more foreseen big plays on defensive penalties And while a communication error contributed to a big play in the - loss at Tampa Bay Bethune was on top of things all night in terms of alignments and assignments Tatum Bethune helps bring down Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson Sunday night at Levi's Stadium Nhat V Meyer Bay Area News Group I ve been playing in big games since I was a little kid man and the only thing I thought about was just having Fred s back and make sure I play to the standard Bethune commented I didn t want to let my brothers down and be the reason a big play happened like last week against Tampa Bethune visited the home of Malik Mustapha after practice to watch film and then texted him about play calls and way concepts Tatum is a real good linebacker coach Kyle Shanahan explained We were excited to get him out of college and last year when he made the squad and we were excited about him this year You never know when your opportunity is going to come and unfortunately it came with a bad injury to Fred but he s been ready for this moment for a while and no one doubted him at all Afterward Bethune took the podium in a crisp new No jersey gifted to him by fellow starter Dee Winters Warner literally wore No as a rookie before switching to No and Bethune took it over upon arrival as a seventh-round draft pick out of Florida State Bethune heeded the advice of linebackers coach Johnny Holland who reported him to be himself I just want to be Tatum Bethune and Fred has done so much on this defense and made so various plays I want to do the same thing he reported I don t want to be Fred but I want to make plays the same way he does and it s inspiring I m excited to learn from him for a year and a half and now it s my chance to learn and be able to make those plays Bethune truly departed for one series for reasons that went unexplained with Curtis Robinson taking over but was back after a sparse plays as the defensive play-caller As much as the ers try to shield themselves from media speculation Bethune couldn t help but hear that their defense was in a bad way with Warner gone I saw all of it I saw all of it Bethune declared As a defense we didn t talk about it I was emotional before the event I even cried because I m thanking God for this opportunity for me to get better and expand while I can before he gets back in As good as Bethune was it was as Shanahan mentioned a gang effort because it takes that a great number of defenders to keep Robinson from doing what McCaffrey did to the Falcons Bijan is a hell of a athlete one of the best running backs in the NFL ers safety Ji Ayir Brown declared One guy just can t be there to make the tackle He does a great job making guys miss That was our battle plan to get guys to the ball That s our style of football Brown sounded mildly amused that the ers were written off in particular quarters defensively without their two biggest stars Related Articles Photos Christian McCaffrey leads the way in San Francisco ers - win over Atlanta Falcons What the ers revealed after beating the Falcons on Sunday Night Football Instant analysis of the shorthanded ers - win over the Falcons ers Studs and Duds Christian McCaffrey is still the NFL s top running back ers-Falcons Niners defense leads win on Sunday Night Football Guys like Fred and Bosa get the majority of the attention but if you take a close look we ve got a few great guys on this group Brown stated Those guys got to showcase it tonight Both Brown and McCaffrey stressed Bethune has taken advantage fully of Warner s example He was behind one of the greatest linebackers that ever played football Brown stated He was ready when his opportunity presented itself