Four turnovers end the 49ers' unbeaten season in a 29-20 loss at Atlanta

The 49ers came into Atlanta without Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel and still outgained the Falcons by 105 yards. They lost 29-20 anyway, their first loss of the season, because they turned the ball over four times and Atlanta scored 13 points off those mistakes.

It started well enough. McCaffrey leaped over the pile from the 1 on fourth down for the opening touchdown, and Black ran 30 yards for another on the first play of the second quarter for a 14-3 lead. McCaffrey then left with a thigh injury, came back after halftime as something closer to a decoy, and finished with 39 rushing yards on seven carries.

That's the part that should bother San Francisco. Through six games the 49ers had six turnovers, according to the Associated Press. On Sunday they nearly matched that in one afternoon.

Christian McCaffrey's backup, Kaelon Black, lost a fumble at the Atlanta 29 in the second quarter, and the Falcons got a field goal out of it. Jessie Bates III intercepted Brock Purdy at the Atlanta 10 in the third, and that turned into Drake London's 21-yard touchdown and a 26-14 lead.

San Francisco still had a chance late. It had cut it to 26-20 and got the ball at its own 47 after a shanked Atlanta punt with about four minutes left. Purdy threw it to rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels with 2:34 to go, Atlanta kicked a field goal, and Daniels recovered a George Kittle fumble on the next drive to end it.

The 49ers had their chances to make the giveaways matter less. A 23-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Watkins was overturned after a long review, and Za'Darius Smith sacked Purdy on fourth down right after. Eddy Pineiro missed the extra point after Kyle Juszczyk's late touchdown, his fourth miss of the season.

Purdy finished 27 of 40 for 288 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Kittle caught eight balls for 88 yards. San Francisco piled up 400 yards and went 2 for 2 in the red zone.

Michael Penix Jr. didn't have to do anything spectacular. He threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns and didn't turn it over, which was the whole difference on a day Bijan Robinson averaged 3.2 yards a carry. He threw short touchdowns to tight ends Nick Muse and Kyle Pitts Sr. before the London score, and Atlanta (3-4) snapped a two-game skid.

The 49ers are 6-1 and get a bye before hosting Las Vegas on Nov. 8. That's two weeks to clean up ball security before anyone takes the depleted receiver room as the excuse.