Denver Broncos Getting San Francisco 49ers at Best Time but Niners Still a Tough Test
With all the injuries for the Niners, Denver's playing San Francisco at the best time. But Brock Purdy is still on fire right now and Christian McCaffrey has fresh legs.
Yes, the San Francisco 49ers are a perfect 3-0 right now.
Yep, they lead the NFC West, surprisingly with the Super Bowl champion Seahawks losing their first game last week and the Rams now 1-2.
But the Denver Broncos seem to be getting the San Francisco 49ers at the best time.
49ers Work out 9, Sign WR Dante Pettis
Everyone who's following the NFL knows of the 49ers health issues.
Last week, when Nick Bosa injured his calf, the Niners wanted to put him on the Injured Reserve. The only problem was they're worried about running out of IR with a designation to return spots.
14 San Francisco players are currently on IR. Which is nuts.
They also had multiple guys injured last week against the Cardinals including all-world tackle Trent Williams and receiver Mike Evans.
Bosa isn't playing this week either per Kyle Shanahan. And both Evans and former Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw didn't practice on Wednesday or Thursday.
That makes five defensive linemen out, three offensive linemen, three wide receivers, and a partridge in a pear tree.
Some people believe the electrical substation outside the stadium is causing all the injuries. Even though the conspiracy theory has been debunked.
But for one reason or another, the Niners are incredibly injured yet again.
It's so bad in The City by the Bay, that they worked out nine players on Tuesday.
The 49ers today had tryouts with the following players: WR Dante Pettis WR Brenden Rice WR Malik Turner WR Brady Boyd WR Quentin Skinner DB Cobee Bryant CB Corey Ballentine CB Sam Webb QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
— Matt Maiocco (@mattmaiocco.bsky.social) 2026-09-29T20:57:01.760Z
The need for receivers was no surprise since and De'Zhaun Stribling just joined Christian Kirk and Ricky Pearsall on the IR. On top of that, Demarcus Robinson was out in Week 3 with a bad ankle.
It's possible they tried out so many DBs because Nate Hobbs, who's on the IR currently, had a chance to be a starter this year.
And the QB is somewhat surprising considering Brock Purdy is playing the best football of any quarterback per multiple metrics and Mac Jones is their definite No. 2. It's possible the Niners got calls about Jones when the Giants lost Jaxson Dart; New York just traded for J.J. McCarthy.
Ultimately, San Francisco signed Dante Pettis, a receiver they selected in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft back in 2018 before he bounced around with the Giants, Bears and most recently the Saints in 2025. He's a depth guy at this point in his career.
They also signed Brandin Cooks and promoted him to the 53-man roster.
That means the 49ers are a bit desperate at receiver.
Health-wise, this is the best time to get the Niners for the Broncos.
Much like playing the Rams last week without Puka Nacua and Myles Garrett was a plus.
Still, Denver's going against Purdy who's on a tear.
Rich Kurtzman
Brock Purdy is On Fire
Purdy hasn't struggled despite missing all those receivers.
He's currently leading the league in passer rating (133.1), QBR (93.8) and touchdowns (9) while throwing only a single interception.
Who's he been throwing to?
George Kittle (174 yards, 3 TD) and Deebo Samuel (159, 2 TD) lead, with Mike Evans and then Christian McCaffrey behind them.
Oh, and on top of all that, Brock Purdy hasn't been sacked a single time.
The Broncos defense will look to change that. From Nik Bonitto to Zach Allen, from Malcolm Roach to Defensive Player of the Week Talanoa Hufanga; everyone is going to want to take Purdy down this Sunday afternoon in San Francisco.
One issue is the 49ers are 5th in Pass Block Win Rate per ESPN (58%) and they have both tackles in Colton McKivitz (93%) and Trent Williams (89%) in the top 2o in the category. Plus Jake Brendel is 5th (96%) in PBWR among interior linemen.
San Francisco's fantastic line is a big reason why Purdy hasn't been sacked. He's also faster than he looks and extremely mobile. He was looking like Steve Young last week as he broke off a 35-yard run against the Cardinals.
McCaffrey's Healthy and Ever-Deadly
There's always Christian McCaffrey to deal with, and he's healthy as a horse right now.
He only has 35 rushes through three games because the Niners have been able to rest him at the end of games when they're up big. That means he also has fresh legs.
He averaged 5.0 yards per carry versus the Cardinals last week with one touchdown, only 2.3 YPC vs. the Dolphins but with two scores, and a monstrous 6.8 YPC vs. LA in the season-opener.
Plus McCaffrey's always a threat to catch passes out the backfield. He has 13 receptions for 107 yards so far. Again, on limited snaps.
McCaffrey and Shanahan. Wait, no not with the Broncos. Kyle Shanahan and Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers; their offense is No. 2 in scoring (32.7 PPG), and No. 1 in net yards per attempt as well as yards and points per drive.
Plus! The Niners are top in 3rd down (63.0%!) and 4th down percentages, as well as red zone scoring (90%!!).
It's going to be strength vs. strength when San Francisco's offense goes against Denver's defense.
Some real popcorn-eating action.
Niners Defense vs. Broncos Offense
The Niners' defense is no slouch unit either.
They're 3rd in scoring (16.7 PPG allowed) and 6th in red zone scoring (40%).
Still, they're missing a lot of dudes on that side of the ball. Especially up front.
However, Fred Warner is playing lights out. His 89.2 overall grade by Pro Football Focus makes him the second-best linebacker in the NFL currently behind only Ventrell Miller of Jacksonville.
Denver could find more success on the ground than in recent weeks, and if they can get into a rhythm this game could turn into a shootout. J.K. Dobbins, dealing with a hip issue, will still be featured but RJ Harvey played well last week and will be important this week.
Harvey's turned into Bo Nix's safety valve in the passing game, playing the role a tight end usually occupies. Speaking of Nix, he needs to step up and play a complete game this week or the Broncos will be in trouble.
In first halves this year, Nix has a 73.1 passer rating with 1 TD and 2 INTs. In second halves he's been markedly better; 87.0 with 3 TDs, 1 INT and 1 rushing touchdown.
For the last two years, it's been clear that Nix needs to improve in terms of playing with consistency. From down to down, but also from quarter to quarter. He regularly starts games slowly only to (usually) dominate in the fourth. It's been working out for Denver the last year-plus, but it's ultimately an unsustainable way to play games.
Especially against contenders on the road.
Broncos (1-2) vs. 49ers (3-0) kicks off at 2:25 p.m. MT on Sunday, Oct. 4 on CBS and Paramount+.
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Rich Kurtzman was born and raised in Denver Colorado and attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins in the aughts. He's been a professional writer since 2011, covering Colorado State football and men's basketball, as well as the Denver Broncos, for many outlets. Current Denver Broncos work can be found on Mile High Sports. Previous credits include CBS Denver and The USA TODAY Sports Media Group.
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