The 49ers left Santa Clara with a 24-14 win over the Denver Broncos, but the real story was how much Brock Purdy had to carry to get them there.
Purdy kept the offense moving when almost nothing around him was clean. The line held up well and never allowed a sack, but the skill players were limited, banged up, and hard to separate.
For much of the afternoon, Purdy’s receivers weren’t getting open until late in the second half, after both Broncos starting cornerbacks were injured. Before that, the passing game sputtered.
Purdy wasn’t seeing the field especially well, either, so he leaned on his legs, extended plays, and kept drives alive. Without that improvisation, the 49ers don’t win.
He has been their best player all season, and they need more help around him.
The run game never really took off. Christian McCaffrey scored a touchdown, but he managed only 3.5 yards per carry and had three catches for 18 yards.
The Broncos contained him, much like the Dolphins did two weeks ago, and he wasn’t much of a receiving threat either. Kaelon Black averaged 2.2 yards per carry behind him, while lead blocker Kyle Juszczyk exited with two catches and a knee sprain.
The 49ers once had a dominant ground attack. That version isn’t here right now, and their most effective runner today was a wide receiver.
That was Deebo Samuel, who turned three carries into 14.7 yards per attempt and scored a touchdown despite finishing with just 26 receiving yards. He still has trouble creating easy separation and winning downfield, but he remains a load to bring down and seems to find the end zone every week. The 49ers need to feed him even more, strange as that sounds.
Mike Evans also played through broken ribs and still produced five catches for 76 yards. Even hurt, he was a steady presence.
The rest of the receiving group had a harder time, which made the Broncos’ cornerback injuries even more important. The 49ers are also missing Demarcus Robinson and De'Zhaun Stribling.
Stribling still can’t put weight on his injured ankle and is using a special scooter to get around.
George Kittle only caught four passes, and the 49ers should have gone to him more often. Still, he delivered the knockout blow with a 56-yard touchdown catch on a screen from Purdy late in the fourth quarter. It was a reminder of just how much explosiveness he has regained fewer than 10 months after tearing his Achilles.
Up front, the 49ers kept their streak alive by not allowing a sack, and Trent Williams continued playing at an elite level at age 38. Even so, the run game had issues, and the offensive line deserves some of the blame there. Next week’s matchup with the Seahawks will be a major test.
Defensively, the 49ers did a lot of things right without Nick Bosa, even though they didn’t record a sack. Bo Nix was held in check anyway, finishing with just two rushes for 10 yards and only 5.1 yards per pass attempt.
The 49ers didn’t need a pass rush to make life miserable for him; they just kept him contained and crowded his throws. Nix showed he isn’t good enough to beat them from the pocket.
Dre Greenlaw led the way with 12 tackles and a forced fumble, a strong day against the team that let him walk this offseason. Fred Warner added seven tackles and two pass breakups and was a perfect complement to Greenlaw.
The Broncos moved the ball most effectively only after Upton Stout left with a shoulder injury. After the game, he had ice wrapped around his shoulder and couldn’t move his arm.
Kyle Shanahan said Stout has an AC sprain. His replacement, Jack Jones, gave up a touchdown catch almost immediately.
Special teams had its own swing moments. Eddy Pineiro had a 54-yard field-goal attempt blocked, and he hasn’t been nearly as sharp this year as he was last season.
On the other hand, Siran Neal recovered a muffed punt deep in Broncos territory, and that set up a touchdown. Neal looked like a Pro Bowl-caliber special teams player.
Raheem Morris was the best coach on the field. He found a way to smother the Broncos offense while working with a half-defensive line, and his group is benefiting from the fact that opposing coaches are still figuring out his tendencies.
Shanahan, meanwhile, had his worst showing of the season for three quarters. He waited too long to use Purdy’s mobility and spent most of the game asking him to drop straight back.
Purdy kept bailing out the plan on his own. Then Shanahan finally dialed up a play-action call with Purdy rolling left, and Purdy hit Evans for 17 yards.
The very next play, the 49ers scored on the one-yard touchdown. Later, Shanahan drew up the screen to Kittle that sealed it.
So no, this doesn’t automatically make the 49ers the best team in the NFL. They can answer that next week against the Seahawks. But they’re undefeated, they’re still not healthy, and if this roster ever gets whole, they’re going to be a problem.
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