Broncos Fall Flat in 24-14 Loss to 49ers: The Good, Bad, & the Ugly

The Denver Broncos emerged from their trip to California with their second loss of the season, falling to the San Francisco 49ers 24-14.

The heat was intense, both literally and figuratively, and despite a very lackluster showing overall and a turnover, the Broncos were actually in position to win the game if their defense could have gotten one more stop.

Instead, the Broncos allowed two third-down conversions with under five minutes in the game, trialing by three points, the second of which was the dagger: 49ers tight end George Kittle took a short pass 56 yards to the house.

That was all she wrote on the Broncos' comeback efforts. As we continue sifting through the aftermath, let's examine the good, bad, and ugly from Week 4.

The Good: Broncos' Defense

Jahdae Barron. — Ja'Quan McMillian and Jahdae Barron celebrate a stop. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Overall, the Broncos' defense hung tough against the 49ers' heretofore high-flying offense. They put the brakes on Brock Purdy and company until late in the game, when all those weary snaps began to add up.

The Broncos bent, but didn't really break until the worst possible moment. Still, they deserve credit for mostly shutting down Christian McCaffrey, who rushed 15 times for just 52 yards and a late touchdown.

If the Broncos had been able to also corral Deebo Samuel as a rusher, they might be singing a different tune this morning, but his three carries for 44 yards were untimely and costly. As a passer, Purdy was held to just 218 yards, but he was able to scramble 10 times, picking up another 29 yards and moving the chains.

It wasn't a dominant defensive showing; far from it. But the Broncos' defense did enough to give the offense a chance to battle back into this game.

I can say that the Broncos' defense decided to break at the worst possible time, but in truth, it was Nix and the offense waiting far too long to finally get into a rhythm that ultimately doomed the outcome of this game.

The Bad: Bo Nix and the Offense

Nix was the checkdown king in this game, with 14 of his 25 completions going to running backs. RJ Harvey finished with a team-high 10 receptions, as Nix and the Broncos repeatedly checked down instead of pushing the ball downfield.

“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.”

Payton wasn't saying that Denver should have tried harder to push the ball downfield; what he said was that the Broncos could have made more of the underneath targets. I don't know exactly what he meant by that, but the only way the Broncos could have "taken a little bit more advantage of" the underneath throws would have been if the running backs had broken more tackles.

The 49ers were content to let the Broncos complete passes all day to backs underneath, swarm up, and tackle. The 49ers did play a lot of two-high shell, but the Broncos didn't do anything to even try to force those safeties down into the box. San Francisco's cornerbacks and linebackers tackled so well.

Perhaps it was a game-plan thing; I don't know. What I do know is that Nix was mostly ineffectual as a passer, despite finishing with 214 yards. At least he didn't turn the ball over, nor was he sacked.

Other than that, it's difficult to find a silver lining to the Broncos' offensive showing in Santa Clara. I mean, good on Harvey for catching 10 balls and fighting hard to pick up extra yards when he was being gang-tackled by three or four 49ers.

But if that's the best Payton, Nix, and Davis Webb could come up with against San Francisco, with weapons like Courtland Sutton, Jaylen Waddle, Evan Engram, and Pat Bryant, fans have every reason to be increasingly alarmed by this offense's outlook.

The Ugly: Injuries

Pat Bryant. — Bo Nix sends off Pat Bryant on the cart at Levi's Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

I could point to the Broncos' seven penalties, many of which were untimely drive killers, but the injuries were a much uglier development. It started with cornerback Patrick Surtain II going down with a non-contact injury to his lower right leg.

Then fellow cornerback Riley Moss exited with a rib injury. Neither returned. In the third quarter, during a 30-yard catch-and-run, wide receiver Pat Bryant suffered an ankle injury and was carted off.

We're still awaiting an update on Moss, but the good news is that both Surtain and Bryant seem to have avoided major injury, although both will miss some time.

Jahdae Barron played well in relief of Surtain. Kris Abrams-Draine didn't fare quite as well, but he and Barron will now be teamed up with Ja'Quan McMillian as the Broncos' starting cornerback trio until Surtain and Moss return.

The 49ers' late-game passing production was greatly influenced by the absence of Surtain and Moss. Losing your top-two corners against an opponent like the 49ers... eventually those chickens will come home to roost.

It was ultimately more than the Broncos could handle at Levi's Stadium. Hopefully, the Broncos will fare better against the Los Angeles Chargers next week, as Surtain will be out and Moss's situation doesn't look great for Week 5.

Sign up for our free Denver Broncos On SI newsletter and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google