The Broncos left Santa Clara with their second loss of the season, a 24-14 defeat to the 49ers that felt like it was still within reach until it suddenly wasn’t.
Denver hung around long enough to make the final stretch interesting, but the game turned on a pair of third-down conversions with under five minutes left and the Broncos trailing by three. The second one ended the comeback for good, when George Kittle turned a short pass into a 56-yard touchdown.
That was the closing blow, but it wasn’t the whole story. Denver’s defense spent most of the afternoon keeping Brock Purdy and the 49ers from fully breaking things open. The unit held up for long stretches before the wear and tear finally showed late.
Christian McCaffrey was contained for much of the day, finishing with 15 carries for 52 yards and a late touchdown. Deebo Samuel, though, made his carries count, piling up 44 yards on just three rushes at key moments. Purdy threw for 218 yards, added 29 rushing yards on 10 scrambles, and kept enough drives alive to let San Francisco stay in control.
The Broncos’ defense did enough to keep the door cracked. The offense never really walked through it.
Bo Nix finished with 214 passing yards, but the Broncos’ passing game never found a real rhythm. Nix completed 25 passes, and 14 of them went to running backs. RJ Harvey was the busiest target, leading the team with 10 catches as Denver leaned heavily on the underneath game.
“We had seen this on tape," head coach Sean Payton said via conference call on Monday, "they did a pretty good job of staying on top of some of the deeper throws and [that is] part of what they’re trying to do defensively. So I think coming away from that game tape, I think the feeling overall was just more yardage underneath in different ways that I think we feel like we could have taken a little bit more advantage of.”
Whatever the intention, the result was an offense that spent too much time settling for short completions and not enough time stressing San Francisco. The 49ers were happy to allow those throws, rally to the ball, and tackle cleanly. Their two-high looks held up, and Denver never really forced the safeties into uncomfortable spots.
Nix avoided the glaring mistake - no turnovers, no sacks - but the passing game still felt stuck in neutral. Harvey did his part, catching 10 balls and fighting through traffic after the catch, but the Broncos didn’t get enough from the rest of the offense to match a defense that had done enough to give them a shot.
Seven penalties didn’t help, especially with several coming at the wrong time, but the injury situation ended up looking even worse.
Patrick Surtain II went down first with a non-contact injury to his lower right leg. Riley Moss later left with a rib injury, and neither returned. In the third quarter, Pat Bryant was carted off after suffering an ankle injury on a 30-yard catch-and-run.
There is still no update on Moss, but both Surtain and Bryant appear to have avoided major injury, even though both are expected to miss time.
Jahdae Barron handled the work in relief of Surtain. Kris Abrams-Draine had a tougher outing, and now he and Barron will join Ja'Quan McMillian as Denver’s starting cornerback trio until Surtain and Moss are back.
By the end, San Francisco’s late passing burst was shaped heavily by the absences at corner. Against an offense like the 49ers’, losing your top two corners eventually catches up to you.
That was the reality at Levi’s Stadium, and it was too much for Denver to overcome. The Broncos will try to regroup next week against the Los Angeles Chargers, with Surtain out and Moss’s status for Week 5 looking shaky.
In Other News...
Broncos Finally Get A Chance To Fix Whats Holding This Offense Back
The Broncos have spent the early part of the season fighting for answers on offense, and now they get a chance to make some progress against a Chargers team dealing with plenty of its own problems. Los Angeles is still looking for its first win, and the issues around Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert and new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniels system have made that side of the matchup far from clean. For Denver, it is the kind of opponent that can either provide a reset or expose how much work still remains.
After a stretch against stronger competition, the Broncos should see this as an opportunity to finally settle some of the things that have held the offense back. But a winless team can be a dangerous one if it is treated like a soft landing spot, especially in the AFC West where little margin exists for careless football. Denver does not just need the result, it needs proof that the offense can take advantage when the matchup is there. [Read more 🡒]
Marvin Mims' Costly Mistake Has Broncos Fans Asking About Accountability
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The larger conversation around accountability did not stop with Mims, either. Former Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw took aim at Sean Payton after the game, and Payton did not push back in his postgame availability, instead responding positively to Greenlaws comments. Meanwhile, across the division, Raiders coach Klint Kubiak was already talking about changing the approach around Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington, a sign that coaches on both sidelines are feeling the pressure to fix problems before they harden. [Read more 🡒]
Broncos May Need One Eagles Move Before The Trade Market Shifts
Philadelphias roster has already started to look different in the wake of the Cam Jurgens trade, and that kind of movement can reshape the market before the rest of the league catches up. The Eagles are dealing with a changing front as well, with Lane Johnson retired and the club sitting at 2-2, which makes any evaluation of their veteran talent more interesting for teams watching for an opening.
From Denvers side, the name worth tracking is Zack Baun, the inside linebacker who has recently earned both Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro recognition. His contract is considered movable, and if the Eagles decide to keep adjusting their roster, the Broncos could make sense as a team ready to act before trade talks around the league shift into a more crowded market. [Read more 🡒]