Broncos vs. 49ers rating, takeaways: Protection saves sloppy night time for Russell Wilson as Denver rallies late – CBS Sports activities

It wasn’t fairly; in reality, it was completely ugly. However for the second week in a row, the Broncos are winners. Regardless of one other tough stretch for Russell Wilson and the offense, Denver obtained one of the best of the 49ers on “Sunday Night time Soccer,” forcing three turnovers and a security to safe an 11-10 victory — simply the second recreation in NFL historical past to complete with that rating. The low-scoring affair vaults the Broncos to the highest of the AFC West alongside the Chiefs, whereas dropping San Francisco under .500 within the NFC West.

Listed here are some immediate takeaways from Sunday night time’s cross-conference showdown:

Why the Broncos received

Nathaniel Hackett has a protection that may (barely) save his offense, which stays wholly with out rhythm. In all seriousness, the Denver “D” was powerful from begin to end however actually stood tall in crunch time. Permitting only one third-down conversion all night time, the unit noticed 4 totally different gamers sack Jimmy Garoppolo, together with Bradley Chubb and Josey Jewell. A late-game choose and fumble restoration mainly sealed their win, and immediate strain on Garoppolo earlier within the night time pressured the QB out of his personal finish zone for a security that might show deadly within the closing rating.

The much less stated about Hackett’s group, the higher, for errant throws, shoddy safety and conservative calls nonetheless plagued them. However at the least Wilson confirmed hints of his classic dual-threat self down the stretch, connecting usually with Courtland Sutton (8-97) to arrange the go-ahead rating. Their manufacturing wouldn’t have sufficed in opposition to an elite contender, however in opposition to a mistake- and injury-riddled 49ers squad, it was simply sufficient.

Why the 49ers misplaced

Dropping Trent Williams at left sort out within the third quarter did not assist, however San Francisco’s points ran deeper. Every part set them up for victory on an evening by which Denver largely stumbled throughout itself whereas possessing the ball. And but Kyle Shanahan’s offense, with Jimmy G on the helm, may solely transfer the chains when it wasn’t third down, intermittently discovering Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk in house however by no means stringing collectively splash performs. Jeff Wilson, averaging a wholesome 6 yards per tote, was underused on the bottom.

And Garoppolo, regardless of an environment friendly begin and some spectacular precision throws, buckled in some dangerous spots, like when he by chance dropped again out of the top zone for the security or threw a choose into basically triple protection with the sport on the road. Wilson’s personal turnover, a fumble on their closing drive, was a killer. So have been their seven penalties, which spoiled an in any other case stout night time from a protection that sacked Wilson 4 occasions and harassed him out many extra.

Turning level

You would possibly look early within the recreation and name Garoppolo’s unintentional security an enormous affect on the ultimate rating, however when it comes to recreation circulate, Wilson most likely turned the tide probably the most, along with his freestyling within the fourth quarter. Unable to push the ball downfield beforehand, Russ took it upon himself to scramble on a key third-and-10 with 8:16 left, and the Broncos down 10-5, discovering Kendall Hinton on an exquisite 27-yard strike that helped arrange the workforce’s solely landing of the night. As soon as Denver formally took the lead, the onus was abruptly on San Francisco to step up its personal offense.

Play of the sport

Wilson’s dart to Hinton whereas on the transfer was precisely the form of play the Broncos are paying him large bucks to ship:

What’s subsequent

The 49ers (1-2) will return dwelling for an additional prime-time matchup, this time in opposition to the rival Rams (2-1) on “Monday Night time Soccer.” The Broncos (2-1), in the meantime, will look to remain above .500 by touring to Vegas to tackle the rival Raiders (0-3), who misplaced a good one to the Titans on Sunday.