Biggest Takeaways from San Francisco 49ers' Week 9 Win

Defensive coordinator Eric Mangini is the best coach on the San Francisco 49ers right now.

When he was the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots in 2005, he was the one of the hottest assistant coaches in the NFL. But then he flopped as the head coach for the New York Jets and then as the head coach for the Cleveland Browns. He had to work back up from the bottom.

For two years, Mangini worked as an on-air football analyst for ESPN. Then, the Niners hired him as a senior offensive consultant and a year later promoted him to tight ends coach.

Now, Mangini is leading a depleted defense that just limited the fifth-ranked Atlanta Falcons offense to 16 points and held Devonta Freeman, the league’s second-leading rusher, to 12 rushing yards on 12 carries.

If the 49ers were to fire head coach Jim Tomsula after this season—a distinct possibility—they probably would consider making Mangini the next head coach. At the very least, he’d be in the discussion.

That’s one of the six biggest takeaways from the 49ers’ 17-16 Week 9 win on Sunday. Here are the other five.

Defensive Backs Coach Tim Lewis Also Is Good

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The Niners didn’t have their top three cornerbacks Sunday against the Falcons. Tramaine Brock, Kenneth Acker and Keith Reaser all were inactive because of various injuries.

So, the Niners' starting corners were 23-year-old Dontae Johnson and 24-year-old Marcus Cromartie. Johnson had played just 67 snaps all season, per Pro Football Focus, and Cromartie hadn’t played at all—the Niners called him up from the practice squad last week.

It would have been fair to expect Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Ryan to exploit the inexperienced corners. But he didn’t. Johnson and Cromartie both were fantastic.

Cromartie gave up just three catches for 33 yards, according to Pro Football Focus, and Johnson made a game-saving pass breakup in the end zone on a throw intended for All-Pro receiver Julio Jones.

Niners defensive backs coach Tim Lewis deserves major praise for preparing his young corners so well so quickly.  

Tom Rathman (RBs) and Chris Foerster (O-Line) Deserve Praise Too

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Tim Lewis wasn’t the only Niners position coach who did well against the Falcons.

Running backs coach Tom Rathman and offensive line coach Chris Foerster may have been even better than Lewis. The pair created a successful running game featuring Shaun Draughn, a tailback the team signed last week.

Draughn spent five games on the Cleveland Browns’ active roster this season before they waived him on Oct. 20. During the 27-year-old's five games with the Browns, he rushed the ball only twice.

Draughn made his first start in the NFL on Sunday against the Falcons. He carried the ball a career-high 16 times and gained a career-high 96 yards from scrimmage.

Rathman and Foerster know what they’re doing.

NaVorro Bowman (ILB) Still Isn’t the Player He Was Pre-Injury

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Former All-Pro inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman has made 88 tackles this season—second-most in the NFL behind D’Qwell Jackson of the Indianapolis Colts.

Against the Falcons, Bowman made big plays, including a sack and two tackles for loss. Is Bowman back to pre-injury form?

No, not according to Pro Football Focus. Despite Bowman’s big plays on Sunday, he earned a grade of minus-0.3 for the game and has earned a grade of plus-0.6 for the season. Ordinary.

The issue? Coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, Bowman has broken up zero passes and given up 40 catches on 42 targets this season. He’s 27 years old, but he moves like Ray Lewis when he was in his mid-30s.

The Win May Not Mean Much

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The Falcons’ record was 6-2 coming into the game, and the Niners beat them. Good for San Francisco.

But this win may not mean much. Don’t expect the Niners to go on a long winning streak or even a short winning streak.

The Falcons played like they thought they could turn it on whenever they wanted. They must have thought they could win easily, considering San Francisco didn’t have Colin Kaepernick, Anquan Boldin, Vernon Davis, Carlos Hyde, Reggie Bush, Mike Davis, Tramaine Brock, Kenneth Acker, Keith Reaser or Antoine Bethea.

But the Niners played hard—probably because they knew they were hurting. And the Falcons never seemed to wake up.

Blaine Gabbert Earned Another Start

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Niners head coach Jim Tomsula refused to name Blaine Gabbert the starting quarterback Sunday after the Falcons game and the following morning. “I’m not going to talk to anybody here before I talk to anybody there,” Tomsula said Monday, referring to his players.

A few hours later, Tomsula apparently talked to his players. And according to 49ers.com's Taylor Price, he named Gabbert the starter for the Week 11 game on Nov. 22 against the Seattle Seahawks after the bye.

Here’s why: Gabbert won. He took care of the football, made a few nice downfield throws, completed two touchdown passes and completed 15 of 25 attempts even though his receivers dropped three passes, per Pro Football Focus.

Gabbert also didn’t have any trouble getting in and out of the huddle, and he didn’t get flagged once for a delay-of-game penalty. The team played hard for him. He deserves another start.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Follow @grantcohn.