Denver Broncos Dominate In 34-0 Preseason Rout Of San Francisco 49ers

The Denver Broncos (2-0) came into brand new Levi's Stadium and spoiled the party for the San Francisco 49ers (0-2) and their fans with a dominant 34-0 win in front of a crowd of 68,500.

Two weeks in a row now the Broncos defense, still without All-Pro linebacker Von Miller and cornerback Chris Harris Jr., and now minus its top tackler from last year in linebacker Danny Trevathan, shut out the 49ers first team offense with a bend but don't break effort.

The Broncos new-look defense picked off two passes and recovered a fumble against the 49ers. They ended the game with a hard-fought goal-line stand that preserved the shutout.

On their opening drive, Colin Kaepernick drove the 49ers first team offense down the field to the Broncos 37 yard line before stalling on a third-and-4 pass to Brandon Lloyd in the endzone that fell incomplete thanks to terrific coverage by cornerback Aqib Talib.

Instead of punting the ball in order to pin Peyton Manning and company deep in their own territory, the 49ers attempted a 55-yard field goal by Phil Dawson that missed.

Manning engineered a 10-play, 47-yard drive on their first possession that included converting a third-and-8 at their own 47-yard line with a throw that zipped past two defenders and into the arms of Wes Welker. It was a pass that clearly showed the progress that Manning has made with his arm strength since his first season back in 2012 following the four neck surgeries. The ball had velocity on it with none of the wobble that was present during that first season with the Broncos.

The drive stalled on the 49ers 8-yard line when Manning missed on a throw to wide receiver Andre Caldwell in the endzone. Matt Prater kicked a 26-yard field goal to give the Broncos an early 3-0 lead.

Kaepernick's next drive for the 49ers once again crossed into Broncos' territory. The Broncos defense held tight, stalling the drive at the 47-yard line and forcing a punt.

Kaepernick finished the night just 5-for-9 for 39 yards. For the second straight game the 49ers offense was held out of the endzone. Even though it's only preseason, the fact that the 49ers offense has yet to score a touchdown must be concerning for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

Manning on the other hand made the most of his second series as he went 8-for-8 on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end Julius Thomas who was wide open down the middle.

"He’s a threat to get down the middle and it’s nice when you have a guy with that speed to get down the field," Manning said.

Manning ended his day 12-for-14 for 102 yards and a touchdown. In his first two games of the preseason he is 22-for-27 for 180 yards (120.8 passer rating). Normally, the third game of the preseason is considered the tune-up for the regular season opener. However, Manning looks as if he is already tuned up and ready for the September 7 opener in Denver against the Indianapolis Colts.

Manning being Manning, he disagrees that he is ready for the season and is looking forward to getting back to work in preparation for the Houston Texans on Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.

"Going against their defense is a big test for our offense," Manning said of the Texans. "I think there’s something to learn from each preseason game you have."

"It’s been a good start. That’s all it is though. We’ve still got some things we’ve got to improve on.”

Brock Osweiler took over from Manning in the second quarter and continued to show that in his third year he has command of the offense and isn't afraid to be vocal in the huddle and show his displeasure with receivers.

Osweiler was 10-of-13 for 105 yards and one touchdown. Zac Dysert also continued to impress, completing 8 of 11 passes for 63 yards and one touchdown in his 2014 debut. Dysert will be a difficult decision for the Broncos when it comes time to make the final cuts. His play makes it highly unlikely that Dysert would go unclaimed by another team in order for the Broncos to place him on their practice squad. The Broncos will have to decide if they can tie up a roster spot with a third quarterback or not.

Demaryius Thomas continued his strong play with five catches for 37-yards that included a 20-yard catch from Manning in the Broncos first drive. Against what is considered the NFC's top two teams, the Seattle Seahawks and 49ers, Thomas has caught 10 passes for 89 yards.

Juwan Thompson was unable to replicate his stellar performance against Seattle. Thompson was a non-factor, rushing just six times for only 10 yards. C.J. Anderson, coming off a concussion a week ago, led the running backs with nine carries for 29 yards and one touchdown. None of the running backs made headlines but when a running play was needed to keep the chains moving, they came through.

Manning was satisified with the progress of the offense over the last two games.

"I thought we made some improvements from last week," Manning said. "That’s kind of what [Head Coach John Fox] stressed to the team last week was try to make some improvements and get better in certain phases. I thought we did that certainly offensively."

Brandon Marshall, in his first game as the starting weakside linebacker in place of the injured Trevathan, played well, making five tackles. Marshall looked comfortable on the field, transferring his strong performance in practice to the playing field.

The Broncos have had a singular focus since OTA's in June, not just to return to the Super Bowl but to win it. That focus seems to be paying off so far in preseason as the Broncos first team offense and defense have been executing well with few mistakes.

"Coming off last year, losing the Super Bowl like we did, coming into OTAs I think everybody had a different mindset," Demaryius Thomas said. "You can see it with older guys, new guys. Our main thing was going out and being able to convert, and as a defense stop guys. If we're going to be stopped, we're going to stop ourselves."

Game Notes:

The Broncos recorded their eighth preseason shutout in franchise history and first since 2009.

Julius Thomas' 17-yard touchdown reception in the 2nd quarter was the first for Levi's Stadium.

"I am honored to be part of a trivia question," Thomas said.

The 49ers have been outscored in their first two preaseason games by a 57-3 margin.

"It's the preseason, but it all means something," left tackle Joe Staley said. "Scoring points is the name of the game, and we haven't done it. ... It will be a real test this week to see how we rebound from this."

49ers running back Frank Gore and wide receiver Michael Crabtree made their first appearances of the preseason.

Broncos cornerback Kayvon Webster missed Sunday's game with a sprained ankle.

Injuries:

WR Gerrell Robinson appears to have hyper-extended his knee. Injury doesn't appear to be serious but will have MRI on Monday.

Linebacker Lamin Barrow left the game with a leg injury, X-rays are negative and Barrow will be examined further on Monday.

Next Game:

The Broncos return home to Sports Authority Field at Mile High to take on the Houston Texans (1-1) at 7 PM MDT on Saturday. The Texans arrive at the Broncos' Dove Valley practice facility on Wednesday for three days of practice before their game on Saturday.

The 49ers remain at home to take on the San Diego Chargers (1-1) next Sunday at 1 PM PDT.