Broncos Dominate in Preseason Opener Against the 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers fell to the Denver Broncos in both teams’ preseason opener. Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga emerged victorious in their return to Levi’s Stadium after spending the beginning of their careers in San Francisco.  

Both head coaches approached their first preseason game differently. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan kept most of his starters sidelined, including quarterback Brock Purdy, tight end George Kittle, edge Nick Bosa, and linebacker Fred Warner. Injuries also kept wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Jauan Jennings out of Saturday’s game. 

On the other side of the field, Broncos head coach Sean Payton played his starters throughout the first quarter. Greenlaw and Hufanga played their first game in a Broncos jersey, and quarterback Bo Nix made his sophomore season debut. 

The 49ers kicked off the game strong. Wide receiver Jordan Watkins caught a 50-yard pass from quarterback Mac Jones. A couple of plays later, San Francisco was able to get in the end zone, scoring the first points of the game. On their second defensive possession of the game, the 49ers forced a safety. Nix was called for intentional grounding after throwing the ball away in the end zone.

“I thought we started slow — both first units,” Payton said in his postgame press conference. 

By the middle of the first quarter, San Francisco had a 9-0 lead. However, the 49ers ended up going scoreless for the rest of the game. 

In his third and final drive of the game, Nix led the Broncos down the field, setting up a field goal. Quarterback Jarrett Stidham replaced Nix, and the momentum started to shift Denver’s way. The Broncos scored another field goal, and Stidham threw two touchdown passes. 

Throughout the second half, Denver continued to dominate the game on both sides of the ball. The Broncos’ defense forced three 49ers turnovers while the offense sealed the victory with two more scores. Denver closed out the win over San Francisco with a final score of 30-9. 

Shanahan expressed his frustration with the 49ers’ performance in his postgame press conference. 

"I liked how we started out, but after that, there wasn’t much to be excited about,” Shanahan said. “I felt we made too many mistakes.” 

Despite the victory, Payton felt similarly to Shanahan about his team’s performance.

“There are a number of things we are going to have to improve on,” Payton said. “And then there will be a lot of positives too.”

While Saturday’s game looked uneven at times for both teams, this game allowed young players to get in-game reps and helped coaches evaluate their teams. Many of the 49ers draftees played in Saturday’s game and “did some good things,” according to Shanahan. 

Shanahan and the 49ers are looking forward to their second preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. The game will kick off at 1 p.m. PDT on Aug. 16.