The San Francisco 49ers beat the Denver Broncos 24-14 on Sunday at Levi's Stadium by playing the cleaner game. They committed 1 penalty and no turnovers, while Denver was flagged 7 times and lost a fumble.
Denver had just pulled within 3 points when Brock Purdy hit George Kittle for a 56-yard touchdown with 2:15 left. That catch restored a two-score lead and sealed it.
How It Happened
Neither offense found the end zone in the first half. Wil Lutz opened the scoring with a 52-yard field goal at 1:43 of the first quarter. Eddy Pineiro answered with a 24-yarder late in the second, and the teams went to the locker room tied at 3.
San Francisco broke the tie in the third quarter. Purdy found Deebo Samuel Sr. for a 1-yard touchdown at 4:15, and the 49ers led 10-3 heading into the fourth.
Lutz cut it to 4 with a 40-yard field goal at 14:08 of the fourth quarter. The 49ers answered with Christian McCaffrey's 1-yard touchdown run at 8:52 to go up 17-6.
Denver made it a game. Bo Nix hit Jaylen Waddle for a 13-yard touchdown at 4:05, and Tyler Badie ran in the two-point conversion to make it 17-14. The 49ers needed less than two minutes to put it away, with Kittle's catch-and-score.
Key Performers
Brock Purdy, SF: 2 TD passes – 1 YD to Deebo Samuel Sr., 56 YDS to George Kittle
George Kittle, SF: 56-yard TD reception, Q4 2:15
Christian McCaffrey, SF: 1-yard TD rush, Q4 8:52
Bo Nix, DEN: 13-yard TD pass to Jaylen Waddle
Wil Lutz, DEN: field goals of 52 and 40 YDS
Team Rushing: SF – 35 ATT, 140 YDS; DEN – 22 ATT, 82 YDS
Team Passing: SF – 19-30, 218 YDS, 0 INT; DEN – 25-42, 214 YDS, 0 INT
Total Yards: SF – 358; DEN – 296
Turnovers: SF – 0; DEN – 1
The 49ers leaned on the run. They picked up 11 first downs on the ground, nearly double Denver's 6.
Denver threw for nearly the same yardage but needed far more attempts to get there. San Francisco averaged over 7 yards per pass while the Broncos managed about 5.
What It Means
San Francisco moves to 4-0 and is 3-0 at home. The 49ers have yet to lose, and this one came with a clean sheet: no turnovers and almost no penalty yardage.
Denver falls to 2-2, and the split is stark. The Broncos are 2-0 at home and 0-2 on the road.
On the road Sunday, Denver ran 64 plays and held the ball for more than half the game. It came away with one touchdown and two field goals.
The Broncos converted 8 of 17 third downs and went 1-for-1 in the red zone. The problem was getting there often enough, plus the self-inflicted damage of 44 penalty yards and a lost fumble. Until that road form changes, Denver's record will hinge on what it does at home.