49ers vs. Falcons: 4 X-factors that could lead to a Niners loss in Week 6
By Peter Panacy
49ers vs. Falcons X-factor No. 2: Atlanta tests Niners No. 2 cornerback
The 49ers suffered a major blow to their secondary in Week 5 when cornerback Emmanuel Moseley suffered a torn ACL late in the game during garbage time, ending his season.
To date, the Niners have been able to withstand the large number of injuries they’ve had to endure, and the fact Moseley and fellow boundary corner Charvarius Ward had been playing so well together helped out other injury shortages elsewhere.
Now, San Francisco will have to find a contingency plan.
The 49ers are hoping veteran cornerback Jason Verrett can make his return off the physically unable-to-perform list after suffering his own torn ACL last season, but he won’t be available for this game.
That’ll likely mean a fill-in corner comes up, such as Deommodore Lenoir, Samuel Womack, Ambry Thomas or perhaps even Dontae Johnson off the practice squad.
The Falcons haven’t been good through the air this season with quarterback Marcus Mariota completing less than 58 percent of his passes with a total of 926 yards over five games.
However, all it takes is for one favorable matchup to turn Atlanta’s otherwise stagnant passing game into a legitimate threat.