Instant reaction: Broncos falter in Week 4 loss to 49ers

· Yahoo Sports

Oct 4, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel Sr. (19) and Denver Broncos running back RJ Harvey (12) shake hands prior to a game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Denver Broncos battled the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday afternoon. It was a close matchup through three quarters, but eventually the 49ers were able to pull away and prevail 24-14 to deliver the Broncos their second loss of the season. Here are several instant reactions from this afternoon’s game.

Once again, the Broncos show no dedication to the run early in games

The 49ers entered this game giving up a lot of yards on the ground last week to the Arizona Cardinals. Despite being one of the best scoring defenses in the league, they have had issues stopping the run to start their season. This was one avenue I hoped the Broncos would try and exploit with their offensive game plan.

Unfortunately, it didn’t appear that Offensive Coordinator Davis Webb took note of that during his weekly preparations. The Broncos ran the ball just nine times in the first half for 32 yards. Meanwhile, quarterback Bo Nix threw the ball 24 times and had just 14 completions for 93 yards. That’s far too unbalanced.

This is simply inexcusable. While Denver was able to edge out the 49ers in the time of possession battle in the first half, not committing to the run on the road was yet another disastrous decision for Webb and the Broncos’ coaching staff. They waited until late in the fourth quarter on their late touchdown drive to do so.

How many more weeks will it be before they realize establishing the run early is something you have to do in order to be a successful offense in the NFL? This continues to be absolutely baffling to me.

Defense fought hard, but couldn’t hold of 49ers in second half

I’ll give credit to the defense for playing hard for most of the game. They did a good job of limiting the 49ers opportunities in the first half. The only big issues for me were some missed tackles and failing to sack Brock Purdy.

However, after thirty minutes of play, the Broncos held one of the league’s best offenses to just three points. I’d call that a success. Alas, with the offense failing to pull their weight and Marvin Mims Jr.’s fumble on a punt return in the second half, they had their backs up against trying to defend Kyle Shanahan’s offensive attack on short fields.

As the game went on, the Broncos’ defense began to wear down. They never registered a sack on Purdy for the entire game. In the final minutes of the game, George Kittle cemented the 49ers victory with a big 56-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. It was a great call by Shanahan, who dialed up the perfect play to combat Defensive Coordinator Vance Joseph sending everything and the kitchen sink at Purdy to try and get the ball back.

Injuries pile up for Broncos in loss to 49ers

As if the result of the game wasn’t bad enough, the Broncos lost three key players due to injury Sunday afternoon against the 49ers. Their top-ranked cornerback duo of Patrick Surtain II and Riley Moss exited the game late in the first half. I’m not too optimistic about the timetable for Surtain’s return. The defense will definitely struggle without him in the lineup. Hopefully neither is too serious, but I won’t hold my breath.

Late in the third quarter, second-year wide receiver Pat Bryant was carted off the field after a leg injury on a chain-moving first down grab. An emerging player in the Broncos’ offense, Bryant’s made some big plays for them this season. It was officially ruled as an ankle injury.

Without #13, the Broncos will have to turn to Mims Jr., Troy Franklin, and hope to get more out of Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton moving forward. I’ve been less than impressed with their aerial attack thus far and it just took a big hit with Bryant’s injury.

At 2-2, the Broncos have a lot of work to do

Quite honestly, there aren’t many positives to write about with respect today’s game. Three big injuries, terrible play on offense, too many penalties, and far too many mistakes across the board. It’s a surprise the game was as close as it was through three quarters.

This team has a lot of soul-searching and work to do. I don’t want to think about worst-case scenarios, but if Surtain and Moss are out for an extended time period, there will be some growing pains on defense. So much of what Joseph is able to call and do is predicated on Surtain being able erase one side of the field with his coverage prowess. It’s been lacking through four weeks, but Denver needs its pass rush to step up more than ever moving forward.

While I was critical of Webb’s lack of commitment to the run, the performance Denver had through the air was also troublesome. Far too many pre-snap penalties, way too many drops, and absolutely nothing was working over the middle of the field. For a third straight season, the offense is starting off slow, and the offensive line certainly didn’t pass the eye test versus the 49ers. This may have been one of their worst performances over the past few seasons.

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