SUMMARY
On a night when just about nothing worked for both offenses, the Denver Broncos did just enough to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 11-10 Sunday at Mile High Stadium.
On the Broncos’ only convincing offensive possession, Melvin Gordon ran for the one-yard touchdown with 4:10 left in the second half, giving the hosts a one-point lead.
It is the ninth loss in eleven attempts for Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan when his club faces Russell Wilson.
Jimmy Garoppolo had the only touchdown pass in the first three quarters, against Brandon Aiyuk in the first quarter.
Both Wilson and Garoppolo struggled in the aerial game, both guilty of inaccuracy on multiple occasions.
No less than eight times, the Broncos offense has been unable to get a first down, which is a new mark of mediocrity for Wilson in his first year in Denver (2-1).
In total, Broncos kicker Corliss Waltman had to punt ten times.
Garoppolo had taken a pay cut to stay with the California club as a backup quarterback to young Trey Lance.
He is now San Francisco’s starting quarterback for the remainder of the season, as Lance had ankle surgery earlier this week.
Jimmy G gave the Broncos a big boost early in the third quarter when he accidentally stepped on the white line in the back of the end zone as he stepped back to fire a pass.
These two points scored by the formation of Nathaniel Hackett on a safety touchdown eventually made the difference.
In the loss, the 49ers (1-2) lost the services of veteran offensive lineman Trent Williams, also injured in an ankle.
Kyle Juszczyk, worthy of the best receivers
