ATLANTA -- If the San Francisco 49ers make changes over their upcoming bye, it won't be because they lost on Sunday.
The game seemed likely to be a defeat when the schedule came out in May, given the East Coast trip, a 10 a.m. PDT kickoff, a short week of preparation, and the fact that it came just before the bye.
And if you penciled an "L" beside it then, you might have gone over it with a ballpoint pen when you found out Mike Evans and a slew of other receivers wouldn't play or when Christian McCaffrey left the field in the first quarter and then desperately tried to get some feeling back in his left thigh for the remainder of the contest.
McCaffrey was back after halftime but clearly wasn't himself. He had 69 all-purpose yards and a touchdown on the opening drive but only 31 yards the rest of the way.
"It sucks because it feels like I was going on a run there and then my leg just died on me," he said at his locker afterward. "Tried to get it going for the whole rest of the game."
McCaffrey was confident it wasn't a long-term issue.
"I know I'll be alright," he said. "But it was just really frustrating."
The 49ers remain atop their division despite what could have been a crippling wave of injuries; players such as Nick Bosa, Evans and Deebo Samuel should return after the bye. They nearly pulled off a win in Atlanta despite sloppy play, four turnovers and Brock Purdy's lowest passer rating of the season, 75.8.
Still, plenty of work remains, and possible changes could come over the break. No, the 29-20 loss to the Falcons won't prompt those changes. But the game highlighted several players and position groups that have consistently underperformed through seven games:
**Kicker:** Eddy Pineiro, who missed just one field goal last season and signed a four-year, $17 million extension in the offseason, has already missed three field goals and four extra points. His fourth-quarter extra-point miss left the 49ers trailing 26-20. After a Brock Purdy interception set up a Falcons field goal, San Francisco began its final possession down nine points -- a two-score deficit.
Kittle's final-drive fumble ended the comeback bid. But the confidence the 49ers' kicker exuded a year ago is long gone. It wouldn't surprise anyone if the team holds a kicker tryout this week.
"Gotta go back and look at the tape and see what's going on," Pineiro said afterward.
**Cornerback:** The 49ers don't seem to have much faith in No. 3 outside cornerback Jack Jones, who's been called upon a lot recently because of a shoulder injury to nickel cornerback Upton Stout.
Against the Commanders last week, the 49ers had safety Ashtyn Davis play nickel instead of sliding Deommodore Lenoir inside to that spot, which would have put Jones at outside cornerback.
On Sunday, the always-aggressive Jones was too aggressive, drawing penalties for holding and pass interference on the same Falcons touchdown drive. By the end of the game, rookie Ephesians Prysock had replaced Jones at the position.
"That wasn't something planned," head coach Kyle Shanahan said of inserting Prysock. "We were just frustrated with some of the penalties and stuff and wanted to give him a shot."
**Receiver:** Samuel, Evans and Demarcus Robinson could be back for the Week 9 game against the Raiders or shortly thereafter. When they return, the 49ers will have to drop or deactivate a receiver, and Brandin Cooks might be the player they circle.
The veteran was targeted three times Sunday. Two passes from normally accurate Purdy fell incomplete. The third was caught for 13 yards. Cooks also drew a false-start flag on third down late in the game.
If Sunday's game were a tryout for which receivers will continue to see action when the reinforcements arrive, Jordan Watkins (three catches, 56 yards) would get a passing grade, while Cooks (one catch, 13 yards) might get called to the principal's office.
"We had a great week of practice. We had a great week of practice, really, the last couple of weeks," Cooks said of his chemistry with Purdy. "At the end of the day, it's my duty to understand where he wants me to be. And we're gonna continue to (work on) that."
**Defensive line:** Finally, the pass rush has been Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde all season. After tallying nine sacks in the previous two games, the 49ers had none against Michael Penix Jr. on Sunday. In fact, they had just a season-low two quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus. For perspective, their previous season low was 14 pressures in Weeks 1 and 3.
Bosa also could be back against the Raiders in two weeks. But during their bye week, the 49ers will ask whether to trade for a defensive lineman who, alongside Bosa, could turn an at-times very good defense into an excellent one down the stretch.
Some of the names being bandied about -- Josh Sweat, Khalil Mack, Daron Payne and DeForest Buckner -- would be strong additions, and Buckner certainly would fit the homecoming theme the 49ers have struck all year with one-time players like Samuel and Dre Greenlaw.
Heading into the weekend, multiple reports said the Indianapolis Colts would hold off on a fire sale to see whether they could reverse their freefall in coming weeks. On Sunday, they lost to the Minnesota Vikings 16-10, dropping their record to 2-5.
Buckner -- a 2016 first-round pick of the 49ers -- is in the final year of his contract and is still beloved by the San Francisco fan base, the front office and those who played alongside him. He currently has four sacks, which would lead the 49ers.
At this point, it would feel like an upset if they didn't add help up front.
This article originally appeared in [The Athletic](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7724817/2026/10/25/49ers-bye-week-changes-trade-deadline/).