Vance Joseph is walking into Santa Clara with a very specific warning label attached to Kyle Shanahan: whatever the 49ers show early, they may have something much nastier waiting after halftime.
That’s not just coach-speak. San Francisco has already piled up 57 second-half points this season.
Denver, by comparison, has scored 60 total points across 12 quarters. So while the Broncos have had their own issues getting the offense moving, the bigger concern this week is what happens when Shanahan starts pulling the strings in the second half.
Joseph knows the assignment. He’s already had to scheme against Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy, Liam Coen, and Sean McVay, and now he’s preparing for another elite play-caller with a reputation for making the back nine of games miserable for opponents.
"Yeah, it’s always a challenge. Obviously, Sean [McVay]’s a great play-caller.
That game Sunday night, that was high-level football on both sides," Joseph said on Thursday. "And obviously, Kyle, he’s one of the best also.
Kyle is the best halftime adjustment coach I’ve ever coached against."
That’s a strong statement from a veteran NFL coach, and Joseph didn’t stop there. He made it clear that Shanahan’s offense can look one way before the break and something entirely different afterward.
"The first half can be this, and the second half is going to be totally different. So he is going to adjust quickly, and that we know about Kyle," Joseph said.
"He has good players, he has a good quarterback, he has a fabulous runner, good receivers. So I expect Kyle to have his best plan starting the game and, obviously, as the game proceeds, to adjust quickly."
The Broncos do have some reason to believe they can answer that challenge. Joseph’s work against the Los Angeles Rams last week was a reminder that he can swing a game with second-half adjustments of his own. Denver mixed up its coverages and blitzes, slowed the run, and made Matthew Stafford uncomfortable enough to force two fourth-quarter interceptions.
One of those was a 67-yard pick-six by Talanoa Hufanga that gave Denver a jolt, and after the Rams answered with a touchdown drive to regain the lead, the Broncos offense had one more shot. Bo Nix and company marched 65 yards for the go-ahead score, then Hufanga finished the job by intercepting Stafford again on the final play from Denver’s 19-yard line.
That kind of finish matters here because Joseph’s defense is going to need another strong closing act. Under Sean Payton, Denver has leaned into being a second-half team, and that approach will have to show up again if the Broncos are going to knock off an undefeated 49ers team at Levi Stadium.
The biggest headache, as always with San Francisco, is Christian McCaffrey. Joseph knows him well, and he knows the damage McCaffrey can do both as a runner and as a receiver. Brock Purdy has leaned on him heavily on third down and in the red zone, which makes the assignment even trickier.
"He’s still playing really well, not just in the running game but in the passing game. I think on third downs, he’s a leading receiver in the first couple of breaks," Joseph said of McCaffrey.
"So that’s always tough, to have a plan to cover a runner on third downs. But again, they do a great job with scheme to free him up and to get him on those matchups they like.
So it’s our job to find the right matchup and have the right calls intact to leverage him."
And McCaffrey isn’t the only problem. Deebo Samuel is back in San Francisco, and he’s already produced 159 yards and two touchdowns. Joseph pointed to the way the 49ers move him around - backfield, motion, outside - as another layer the Broncos have to sort out.
"With bringing Deebo back to San Fran, they do a great job of swapping those guys. Deebo’s the halfback sometimes, he’s the receiver," Joseph said.
"So to adjust your coverages and adjust your fronts accordingly to those formations is going to be key for us to win this game. But it goes through him, obviously, and he’s a fabulous player."
The larger picture is clear enough. Shanahan’s offense has been rolling, ranking in the top 10 in all 11 major offensive statistical categories through three weeks, including No. 1 in yards per play, third-down efficiency, and red-zone efficiency. The 49ers are also the league’s second-ranked scoring offense.
Denver’s defense is nowhere near that level statistically right now, though the Broncos have been staring down a brutal early schedule. They’ve already handled the Jacksonville Jaguars and slowed Stafford and the Rams, and now the test gets even tougher.
If Joseph is going to keep this game in range, he’ll need another sharp plan, another clean adjustment, and another answer when Shanahan inevitably changes the picture after halftime.
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