The Denver Broncos got a much-needed win on Sunday Night Football at home against the San Francisco 49ers, moving to 2-1 on the 2022 season. The win was critical for the Broncos not just in terms of the standings, but in terms of keeping the team’s overall growth from what we’d seen in the first two games against the Seahawks and Texans.
After those first two games, the Denver Broncos had to be better in two specific areas, namely cutting down on penalties and being better with game management. It’s safe to say they were markedly better in those two areas with just five accepted penalties (compared to 25 in the first two games) and much better overall game management with no clock issues. The Broncos were even able to get the ball back at the end of the first half with some great clock management, though the offense failed in an epic way after the defense got them the ball at midfield.
Besides those two major improvements, here are three big takeaways from the Denver Broncos’ win over the 49ers on Sunday night.
3 major takeaways after Denver Broncos win vs. 49ers in Week 3
1. It’s fair to be a little worried about the Broncos’ offense
After the Broncos beat the 49ers by a final score of 11-10, Josey Jewell joked with a reporter in the locker room that this particular game reminded him of an Iowa-Wisconsin matchup, and he’s 100 percent accurate.
True story, #Broncos postgame locker room, one Iowa native to another:
— Sean Keeler (@SeanKeeler) September 26, 2022
Me: "Did that game remind you of what it reminded me of?"
Josey Jewell: "Oh, Iowa-Wisconsin. Oh, yeah. Easy."#Broncos #BroncosCountry #NFL #SNFonNBC #SFvsDEN #B1G
And this is not a compliment, either, depending on which way you slice it. If you’re looking at it from the defensive perspective (more on that in a moment), it’s a great thing. A win is a win in the NFL and you grind them out any way you can. Winning pretty doesn’t matter in the NFL as much as it does in the Big Ten, but the Broncos-49ers tilt on Sunday night certainly felt like a classic Big Ten matchup for all the wrong reasons.
Horrendous offense, great punting, great defense. Sounds like Iowa-Wisconsin to me. I think it’s certainly worth being at least a little worried about the Denver Broncos’ offense at this point. Although Russell Wilson has been clutch, the Broncos have failed to put more than 16 points on the board in any of their first three games. It feels at times like the team is going to need a defensive score just to keep hope alive. Incidentally, this game was won thanks to a safety.
Beyond just Russell Wilson, though, the Broncos’ offense has problems. Penalties, dropped passes, and Melvin Gordon, to name a few. The game management was much better against the 49ers but the offensive output was absolutely putrid. Nine three-and-outs? You’ve got to be kidding me.