SANTA CLARA — The game ended on fourth-and-10, 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 20-10 win by the 49ers at Levi’s Stadium Sunday night, an important win for a team with an improbable 5-2 record despite myriad injuries to key players.
Nick Bosa has been out since Sept. 14 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 probably won’t be back either, even if the 49ers make it to the postseason.
Yet here were the 49ers, shutting down a Falcons team that piled up 443 yards including 210 yards rushing on a good Buffalo team the week before. It was the fewest points allowed by the 49ers this season, better than the 17-13 win in Week 1 in Seattle when both of the 49ers’ defensive stars were in the lineup.
The 49ers bottled up Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson (14 carries, 40 yards, six receptions, 52 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 49ers 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 breaking up a pass intended for Drake London with 1:47 to play. The 49ers also used safety Jason Pinnock as a “big nickel” safety and left Deommodore Lenoir outside rather than play in the slot.
The 49ers showed 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 game,” cornerback Chase Lucas said. “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 10 tackles, including one for loss. He lost two more potential big plays on defensive penalties. And while a communication error contributed to a big play in the 30-19 loss at Tampa Bay, Bethune was on top of things all night in terms of alignments and assignments.
“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 said. “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 route concepts.
“Tatum is a real good linebacker,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “We were excited to get him out of college and last year when he made the team 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. 48 jersey gifted to him by fellow starter Dee Winters. Warner actually wore No. 48 as a rookie before switching to No. 54, 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 told him to be himself.
“I just want to be Tatum Bethune, and Fred has done so much on this defense and made so many plays, I want to do the same thing,” he said. “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 actually departed for one series for reasons that went unexplained, with Curtis Robinson taking over, but was back after a few plays as the defensive play-caller.
As much as the 49ers 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 said. “As a defense, we didn’t talk about it. I was emotional before the game. 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 said, a team effort because it takes that many defenders to keep Robinson from doing what McCaffrey did to the Falcons.
“Bijan is a hell of a player, one of the best running backs in the NFL,” 49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown said. “One guy just can’t be there to make the tackle. He does a great job making guys miss. That was our game plan, to get 11 guys to the ball. That’s our style of football. ”
Brown sounded mildly amused that the 49ers were written off in some quarters defensively without their two biggest stars.
“Guys like Fred and Bosa get the majority of the attention, but if you take a close look, we’ve got some great guys on this team,” Brown said. “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 said. “He was ready when his opportunity presented itself.”