The Atlanta Falcons pulled off one of the upsets of the NFL season on Sunday, taking down the San Francisco 49ers 29-20 and handing Kyle Shanahan's squad their first loss of the season.

The Atlanta offense was opportunistic in this game and did enough to get the job done, but Jeff Ulbrich's defense was the real story of the game. The Falcons held the No. 1 offense in the NFL to just 20 points on the day while forcing four turnovers to help get the win.

As usual, star safety Jessie Bates III was right in the middle of the chaos for the Atlanta defense. The veteran finished with nine tackles, two pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble in the win and made a case for NFC Defensive Player of the Week in the process.

With this big game, Bates also joined an exclusive list in NFL history. This is his sixth career game with an interception and a forced fumble, making him one of just four players with six such games in the last 30 years, according to Falcons beat reporter Tori McElhaney.

Bates has five of those games since joining the Falcons back in 2023 after starting his career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Those five games with a forced fumble and a pick in the last four years lead the league by a mile, as nobody else has more than two such outings.

Article Continues Below

With this win, the Falcons improve to 3-4 on the season and are right back in the NFC South race after the Carolina Panthers' loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Atlanta is just a half-game out of first place in the division as the midway point in the season nears, which means Bates and this defense should be playing meaningful football into December this year.

Next up for the Falcons is another tricky divisional game, as they go on the road to take on the Buccaneers in Week 8. They then head overseas to take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid, so there are some big weeks ahead for Bates and this Atlanta team.