Melvin Gordon ran for a touchdown, Russell Wilson was 20-for-33 passing for 184 yards and the host Denver Broncos beat the San Francisco 49ers 11-10 on Sunday night.
Courtland Sutton had eight catches for 97 yards and Javonte Williams ran for 58 yards for Denver (2-1), which used a safety to beat the 49ers (1-2).
Jimmy Garoppolo was 18-for-29 passing for 211 yards, a touchdown and an interception, Brandon Aiyuk had a TD catch and Jeff Wilson rushed for 75 yards but fumbled in the final minutes for San Francisco.
San Francisco scored its lone touchdown on its second drive. A 20-yard pass to Aiyuk and Jeff Wilson’s 37-yard run to set up a first down at the Broncos 18, and the 49ers capped it off with Garoppolo’s 3-yard pass to Aiyuk to make it 7-0 with 7:56 left in the first quarter.
Denver went three-and-out on its first three possessions before driving to San Francisco’s 37, where Brandon McManus kicked a 55-yard field goal to make it 7-3 at halftime.
Defenses continued to dominate in the second half and the Broncos took advantage of a punt that was downed at the 49ers 2. Garoppolo dropped back to pass and stepped out of the back of the end zone for a safety to make it 7-5 with 9:53 left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing possession, McManus missed from 53 yards out, and San Francisco extended its lead to 10-5 when Robbie Gould kicked a 51-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
The teams again traded punts and then Denver put together its best drive of the night. The Broncos converted on third down three times before Russell Wilson hit Sutton for 19 yards to the San Francisco 5. Gordon scored on a 1-yard TD run with 4:10 left, but the Broncos didn’t convert the two-point attempt.
The 49ers had two chances after that, but Garoppolo threw an interception at the Denver 41 with 2:06 left.
After the Niners forced a punt, Garoppolo hit Jeff Wilson over the middle, but he fumbled and the Broncos recovered.
–Field Level Media
