Peyton Manning Tops Favre, Then 49ers In 42-17 Rout

It was a record-setting night at Sports Authority Field at Mile High as Peyton Manning broke Brett Favre's career touchdown mark of 508 in the second quarter of the Denver Broncos (5-1) 42-17 rout of the San Francisco 49ers (4-3) on Sunday night.

Entering the game needing two touchdowns to tie Favre, Manning took the suspense out of the record look early as he and the Broncos offense struck for three touchdowns in the first four drives of the game. The record-breaker came on third-and-goal from the 49ers 8-yard line with 4:21 remaining in the second quarter. Manning connected with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in the endzone with #509 to pass Favre. The sold out crowd of 77,047 erupted in cheers as Manning ran towards the endzone to greet Thomas.

"It is quite an honor," Manning said. "I do have great appreciation for quarterbacks who played this game throughout the years. It's very humbling, has taken a lot of hard work, a lot of people helped me get to this point."

Manning, a well-known prankster around the locker room, was on the receiving end from his receivers as Demaryius and Julius Thomas, along with Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders played keep-away with the record-breaking football before giving it up to him.

"I heard whispers about something," Manning said. "Those guys are all great athletes and my vertical leap isn't what it used to be. I haven't played keep-away since I was 8 years old. That is something I will always remember."

Manning was only able to hold the ball momentarily before a representative from the Pro Football Hall of Fame secured the ball for it's trip to Canton, Ohio.

Manning tied the record on a 39-yard pass that Welker caught on the run from the 18-yard line and dove with the ball into the endzone pylon. After conflicting calls from two referees, the play was reviewed. Replay awarded the touchdown to the Broncos which gave Manning #508, tying Favre and giving the Broncos a 14-0 lead with 1:22 remaining in the first quarter.

After falling behind 21-3 late in the second quarter, the 49ers showed life when they converted a third-and-17 from their own 29-yard line with 1:54 left in the half. Three plays later from the Denver 4-yard line, Colin Kaepernick hit Stevie Johnson in the endzone for a touchdown. The 49ers went into halftime down 21-10 but with momentum behind them.

The third quarter began with the 49ers defense holding the Broncos to a three-and-out. The 49ers received some help from an unnecessary roughness call on Broncos left guard Orlando Franklin that put Denver in a third-and-17 hole from their own 13-yard line.

The 49ers offense was unable to capitalize on the stop as Kaepernick was intercepted on their next drive by cornerback Aqib Talib and taken to the San Francisco 40-yard line.

The Broncos capitalized immediately on the first play of their next possession when Manning completed a 40-yard bomb to Demaryius Thomas (eight catches for 171 yards) for his second touchdown reception of the game. The Broncos took a 28-10 lead with 11:55 remaining in the third quarter and never looked back.

Running back Ronnie Hillman (14 carries for 74 yards) would get in on the touchdown parade in the third quarter with runs of 37 yards and 1-yard to give the Broncos a 42-10 lead. Since Hillman replaced the injured Montee Ball last week, the Broncos have discovered a legitimate running game.

With the game firmly in hand at the end of the third quarter and the Broncos having a quick turnaround with a Thursday night game against the San Diego Chargers, Manning was replaced by backup quarterback Brock Osweiler to begin the fourth quarter. He left the game completing 22-of-26 passes for 318 yards and an NFL record 510 career touchdown passes, four of those coming on Sunday night.

The Broncos defense had a huge night against the 49ers offense as they sacked Kaepernick six times. Defensive end DeMarcus Ware led the way with three sacks of Kaepernick while linebacker Von Miller added two sacks of his own and defensive end Malik Jackson came up with one more.

A week after throwing for 343 yards and three touchdowns against the St. Louis Rams, Kaepernick was contained by the Broncos defense. He ended the night completing 24-of-39 passes for 263 yards.

The 49ers run game was non-existent as Frank Gore rushed for just 20 yards on nine carries and Kaepernick, who leads the NFL in quarterback rushing yards, was only able to pick up 18 yards on the ground.

After the game was all but over, Kaepernick was pulled late in the fourth quarter for backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bruce Ellington with a minute remaining in the game to make it a 42-17 game.

The win lands the Broncos in first place in the AFC West and sets up a showdown in four days against the 5-2 Chargers in Denver. The 49ers three game winning streak came to an end as they head into a bye.

Notes:

Following the record-breaking touchdown, Brett Favre and Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton appeared in separate videotaped messages on the scoreboard.

"I want to say congratulations for breaking the touchdown record," Favre said. "I'm not surprised. You've been a wonderful player and I've enjoyed looking you play. I've enjoyed competing against you. I wish you great success for the rest of the season and the rest of your career."

Tarkenton added, "Well, Peyton, it's official. Your ducks have crossed the end zone more than anybody else's. But really, congratulations. Nobody has ever played the quarterback position better than you have."

The 42 points scored by the Broncos is the most ever allowed by a Jim Harbaugh coached 49ers team.

Emmanuel Sanders picked up his first touchdown with the Denver Broncos in the first quarter on a 3-yard pass into the endzone from Peyton Manning.

Injury Report:

49ers

Center Daniel Kilgore- Apparent broken leg. Will be evaluated further on Monday.

Broncos

Cornerback Omar Bolden- Has concussion and is undergoing protocol.