Second Half
Keenum looked Hamilton’s way again early in the second half. On second down of the team’s first drive in the second half, Hamilton ran a deep out route but Keenum misfired and the ball went out of bounds.
Around the 9:25 mark of the third quarter, on third-and-five, Hamilton went in motion again from the left to right inside. Hamilton ran a medium slant route and picked up four yards and inches, creating 4th-and-inches.
The Broncos went for it on fourth down and converted.
On third-and-five with 55 seconds left in the third quarter, the Broncos lined up with Hamilton in the middle of a trips left set (three receivers to the left of the offensive line).
Keenum was under a lot of pressure on the play but managed to find a wide open (in NFL standards) Hamilton for a big gain of 14 yards to move the chains.
At the 10:20 mark of the fourth quarter, Keenum found Hamilton for a short gain (Four yards).
Almost four minutes later, Keenum found Hamilton again. It was a second-and-one play. Hamilton gained 18 yards on the play before being on the receiving end of an illegal hit by a 49ers player. He held onto the ball, miraculously.
Keenum and the Broncos were down in the red zone two minutes later. Keenum dropped back to pass and threw the ball to Hamilton in heavy traffic. The play ended up being pass interference on the 49ers defense.
Three plays later, on fourth down, Hamilton caught his next pass. It was a two-yard touchdown reception for the rookie.
Hamilton’s last catch was fitting. After a big day, there is no better way to end the afternoon than with a touchdown reception for the rookie.
Final thoughts
Hamilton was on the receiving end of plenty of targets on Sunday.
The Broncos are going to need more from Hamilton each and every week from here on out. Nobody envisioned the team to have two rookie wide receivers starting at all this season.
But with the injury to Emmanuel Sanders and the trade that sent Demaryius Thomas to Houston, that’s exactly what we are getting.
I am so excited for Hamilton. I cannot wait to see what else the team has in store for him the remainder of the 2018 NFL season.