The Injuries Pile Up As The 49ers Lose In Denver

Lost in all of the commotion of touchdown records being broken, there was also a game being played. The San Francisco 49ers limped into Denver to take on the Broncos, and limped out with a loss by a score of 42-17.

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Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense played exceptionally as he sliced up the wounded 49ers’ defense. Manning only needed three touchdowns to pass Brett Favre for the all time touchdown record, but he ended the night with four.

Manning threw for 318 yards along with four touchdowns with no interceptions. Multiple receivers got in on the action as Manning spread the ball around. They were all topped by Demaryius Thomas who finished with 171 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos didn’t do as much damage on the ground as they only ran for 104 yards, but they didn’t need to do much.

The only hope that the 49ers had of winning this game is if the offense came in guns blazing and matched Manning score for score. They were unable to do that early, and before they knew it, they were facing an 18 point deficit.

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Colin Kaepernick had a good first half, and the only thing keeping it from being a great first half were his receivers dropping passes. Multiple receivers dropped multiple passes including sure-handed Anquan Boldin who dropped a pass for a touchdown.

Kaepernick ended the game with one touchdown and one interception, along with 263 yards.

The 49ers did some damage control right before halftime by scoring a touchdown with a few seconds left, but it wasn’t enough to completely turn the momentum from Manning’s record night.

The Broncos’ run defense prevented the 49ers from leaning on the running game like they would’ve liked. That forced the 49ers to pass, and Denver did a good job of keeping Kaepernick from taking over the game. Frank Gore only got 20 yards on nine carries while Carlos Hyde totaled just 15 yards on three carries.

On the other side, the 49ers’ defense did what they could with what they had. With multiple key players on defense out, the 49ers had to trust in their depth more than ever. The defense played decently all things considered.

The 49ers’ suffered more injuries as players like Chris Cook and Daniel Kilgore had to leave the game. Luckily for the 49ers, they have a bye next week, and that should allow them to recover somewhat.