The Denver Broncos moved into a tie for first in the AFC West with the Kansas City Chiefs after an inspiring 11-10 defensive win over the San Francisco 49ers. The offense still has questions, but the defense continues to give them time to figure things out with back-to-back wins.
It was a clean game from head coach Nathaniel Hackett and the special teams played very well. Those were two other concerns before this game, so the only remaining issue for this coaching staff is how to get Russ to cook more regularly in games.
first quarter
The first quarter saw the Broncos go three times in three straight possessions to start the game. Russell Wilson completed two of five passes for three yards as the Broncos racked up 11 total yards on offense.
Meanwhile, the 49ers race on their second practice to walk straight down the field to score a touchdown to take an early lead in the game.
49ers 7, Broncos 0. Full first quarter recap.
second quarter
A fierce defensive battle unfolded in the second quarter as the Broncos’ defense stiffened after giving up that early touchdown. They were thwarting the 49ers offense all quarter. Meanwhile, the Broncos have thrown in a few offensive drives. The first led in points after this excellent game from Russell Wilson.
Russell Wilson, dragging his foot behind the line of scrimmage and unloading a chest pass to Melvin Gordon for another 20 yards like a fucking wizard pic.twitter.com/rjYxdEv9u6
— Christian D’Andrea (@TrainIsland) September 26, 2022
Their second practice ended up producing no points, but they started the practice on their own half-yard line and briefly headed to the shooting range before a third sack down pushed them out of reach for Brandon McManus.
49ers 7, Broncos 3. Full second quarter recap.
Third quarter
Neither team’s offense could get things going in the third quarter. Denver’s defense made the biggest play by forcing Jimmy G to commit a safety to cut the 49ers’ lead to just two points.
Another turnover from Jimmy G led to a field goal attempt by Brandon McManus, but he drove the attempt 53 yards right.
49ers 7, Broncos 5. Full third quarter recap.
Fourth trimester
The 49ers would start the fourth quarter in Broncos territory and be stopped just short of a first down to give Robbie Gould a 51-yard field goal to extend their lead.
49ers 10, Broncos 5.
From their own 25-yard line, the Broncos returned to the scenario of Javonte Williams gaining a few yards down the middle on first down. Wilson went deep to Jerry Jeudy who had the ball just knocked down. A few more centimeters on the throw and that ball is over for a probable touchdown.
On the third and seventh, Wilson ran for the first down. He was ruled short, but replays again showed he was clearly across the 35-yard line with the ball. However, as they had throughout the game, the referees ruled in favor of the 49ers to give the Broncos their eighth three and out of the game.
DEN decided to pitch to SF from DEN 34 on 4th and 1st with 12:28 remaining on 4th while losing 5 to 10.
With a surrender index of 8.66, this punt ranks in the 93rd percentile of loose punts in the 2022 season and the 90th percentile of all punts since 1999.
— Surrender Index (@surrender_index) September 26, 2022
For some reason, the 49ers went out throwing the ball on their next practice and would end up having to throw again after getting a first down. With 10 minutes left in the game, that would likely give Denver an extra chance before the game was over to do something offensively.
Denver’s next practice got a first down, which meant they were going to do something. On a long third and 10, Russell Wilson bought extra time and found Kendall Hinton for a big play at the 49ers 40-yard line for a 27-yard gain.
In the next third, Wilson rushed for another first to the 49ers 24-yard line. Wilson then fired a back shoulder at Courtland Sutton to the 5-yard line. With zero touchdowns in the red zone in nearly three games, Denver handed it to Melvin Gordon in back-to-back runs to hit it for the touchdown. Their two-point conversion attempt pass was deflected down the line.
Broncos 11, 49ers 10.
With just over three minutes left in the game, the 49ers converted a third-and-three on a close pass breakup for Ronald Darby. Another completion on a slope brought San Francisco closer to midfield.
Jimmy G’s next pass was deflected and intercepted by Jonas Griffith to recover the ball for the Broncos with just over two minutes left in the game.
Denver will only miss 15 clock seconds before having to send him directly to the 49ers. San Francisco would be forced to use two of their timeouts, but with 1:51 remaining in the game, that would be plenty of time for them to move into field goal range.
A missed punt nearly ended the game, but the 49ers would take over on their own 15-yard line. The Broncos defense was hungry for a win and on first down, Bradley Chubb hit a huge sack on the first down at the 49ers 4-yard line.
On second down, PJ Locke forced a fumble that Kareem Jackson would recover to seal the win for Denver.