49ers takeaways: They’re 4-0, as Kittle and Greenlaw star in tough win over the Broncos

SANTA CLARA, Calif.

The 49ers’ offense took more than 40 minutes of game time to find its footing Sunday against the Denver Broncos, who posed the toughest test of any defense they faced through the first quarter of the season.

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Kyle Shanahan’s vaunted offense sputtered. Five of the first six drives ended without points, including a turnover on downs on a failed fourth-down sneak and blocked field goal at the end of the first half. Brock Purdy, who had been in rhythm and one of the most efficient passers in recent history to start the season, was missing open receivers. Denver’s talented defensive line was giving 49ers’ blockers all they could handle.

But a special teams play swung the game five minutes into the fourth quarter.

Standout Siran Neal made a strong open-field tackle of Marvin Mims in punt coverage. The ball popped loose as Mims’ hand hit the ground, and Neal snatched it, giving San Francisco possession in Broncos’ territory.

“I actually challenged the special teams last night,” Shanahan said afterward of the team’s meeting on Saturday. “With the type of game we thought it was going to be, we wanted to run the ball a lot. We said if we were going to meet those goals, we thought the special teams was going to have to get a turnover and Siran came through with that. It was a huge play.”

The 49ers scored their first touchdown nine plays later — the first of their final three possessions that resulted in touchdowns, not including the kneel-down to end the game. They ended the day 4-0, one of three unbeaten teams left in the NFL, with arguably their toughest test coming next week with a road game against the defending champion Seattle Seahawks.

The game included a bevy of story lines. Shanahan passed legendary coach Bill Walsh to become first in team history with 167 games coached. George Kittle sealed the game with a 56-yard screen, running by Broncos defenders at 19 miles-per-hour less than nine months since tearing his Achilles. Receiver Mike Evans played with broken ribs, his teammates revealed, and still led San Francisco with five catches for 76 yards despite being clearly hampered and unwilling to fight through tackles given the pain he was going through.

But jumping off the field throughout the game was enforcing linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who led the team with 12 tackles against his former club, gesturing and yelling at their sidelines throughout.

Greenlaw wasn’t going to miss this game

Greenlaw’s infamous career turn came when he snapped his Achilles running on to the field in the first half of the Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs after the 2023 season. He missed all but two games in 2024, then signed a three-year $35 million contract to join Broncos in free agency while the 49ers reset their roster by letting high-priced free agents leave.

But Greenlaw’s season in Denver was full of fits and starts. He never quite settled in, starting the season with a hamstring injury and struggling to reclaim his form that made him one of the league’s most ferocious linebackers during his prime years with San Francisco. He was released in the spring — and played Sunday like he had the game circled on his calendar despite exiting last week’s win over Arizona with a quadriceps injury that limited his practice time during the week.

“Everybody was asking him, ‘hey you going to make it?’” Fred Warner said. “He said, ‘I wasn’t going to miss this one.”

Greenlaw has been revered by his teammates for the passion he plays. Though it comes with a downside. He’s been called for 11 personal fouls throughout his career, including six in 2023. But he managed to control his emotions and wasn’t flagged on Sunday (the 49ers were penalized just once).

“I knew he’d be excited going into this game,” Shanahan said. “I was a little nervous there in the first half. I told him, you can get close, but don’t be so excited that you give them explosive with 15 (yards via penalty). I really thought someone was going to get one in the second half. I just challenged our team to make sure it wasn’t us.”

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The 49ers defense allowed just 296 yards of offense while Denver scored just one touchdown. The Broncos managed just 82 rushing yards, averaging 3.7 per carry, while Bo Nix threw for 214 yards on 42 attempts, good for a paltry 5.1-yard average. Fourteen of his 25 completions went to running backs.

But time and again, it was Greenlaw flying around and making tackles — and occasionally overrunning some — and also forcing a fumble that Denver recovered.

“I think people know, if I were to ever wear a jersey, I’d probably wear his,” Shanahan said.

Kittle hits 19 mph

Evans is banged up. Projected No. 2 wideout Ricky Pearsall is done for the year. Top draft pick De’Zhaun Stribling was moving around the press area on Sunday’s game on a scooter with his foot in a boot after suffering an ankle injury in the season opener.

But that hasn’t mattered much with Kittle available coming off his injury and the meticulous rehab it took to get back on the field. Kittle for a second straight week scored a game-sealing touchdown late in the fourth quarter when the 49ers were trying to salt the game away.

The Broncos were expecting the 49ers to run the ball. They were down just a field goal, 17-14, and started using their timeouts before the 2-minute warning hoping to get the ball back and have a chance to win the game. They dialed up a blitz sending their linebackers to try and stop Christian McCaffrey and force a long third-down passing situation.

Instead, Shanahan called a screen to Kittle. With a block from center Jake Brendel on safety Brandon Jones, it was smooth sailing more than 19 miles-per-hour all the w_ay to the end zone. The only man Kittle had to beat was former teammate Talanoa Hufanga, the Broncos standout safety whose two-interception performance put the Rams away last week.

“I expected it,” Kittle said of having the speed to run through Denver’s defense. “In July, I was hitting 20 miles an hour. I just knew that if I could do it consistently — I think the biggest part was the acceleration, getting that back. I really thought that starting Week 2 and on, Australia felt totally weird, but from Week 2 and on, I had so much confidence then and haven’t looked back since.”

Kittle finished with four catches for 70 yards, and was mostly bottled up until the late touchdown. He was part of bumpy day for Purdy, who finished 19 of 30 for 218 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn’t the same sublime efficiency the 49ers had seen from Purdy during his first three games that led to him jumping toward the top of MVP voting odds, but it was enough to get a 10-point win over one of the best defenses the 49ers will face this season.

“I felt like we were moving the ball,” Purdy said. “But we were hurting ourselves with little things. But for us to get it going in the second half, and shout-out to Siran Neal, the punt and getting the ball back for us and having us go score. It felt like we wanted to break through, it was really just ourselves (making mistakes) I felt like. I’m glad we could get some momentum going in the second half. That’s why it’s a four-quarter game.”

Deebo Samuel gave the 49ers some juice with 44 rushing yards on three carries, and the first of their three second-half touchdowns. It came on a 1-yard reception to convert a third-and-goal in the third quarter after Neal’s forced turnover.

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Injuries updates

• Fullback Kyle Juszczyk exited the game in the second half after it appeared he hyperextended his knee on a 16-yard catch early in the fourth quarter. He did not return to the game leaving backup tight end Brayden Willis to take over his versatile blocking duties the rest of the way.
• Cornerback Upton Stout is dealing with a shoulder injury, Shanahan said. He momentarily returned to the game but checked back out and did not return.
• Safety Marques Sigle left the game with an ankle injury after returning from an earlier stinger. He walked to the locker room after a tackle along the sidelines in kickoff coverage.