This Sunday night pinned our beloved 4-1 Denver Broncos against the 4-2 San Francisco 49ers. Now our Broncos are coming off a pleasing 31-17 win over the Jets. Now they return home for a Sunday night showdown. And best believe, this should pan out to be a great game, if not the game of the week for week 7.
In the Broncos' pleasing win over the Jets, the offense and defense played good. Not great, but good. There were moments where the offense was non-existent and the defense let up, but overall, they did where they needed to do to get the win. As far as the 49ers, they were coming off an ugly win over the Rams last night, and are now riding high on a 3-game winning streak heading into the Mile High city.
Now the matchup of the game will be the Broncos' O-line vs. the 49ers' front seven. The 49ers have a great defense. And despite a few injuries, they were able to get the job done and kept their team in the game. They will be put to a test against a Broncos' offense who's gaining their rhythm from last season. Now the Broncos' O-line will have to be on their A-game protecting Peyton Manning and creating holes for the running backs. They can't afford to be caught napping. Otherwise, we'll see a repeat of last Sunday where Peyton was sometimes running for his life. That can't happen at all against the 49ers.
Now the 49ers have a solid secondary. I believe the Broncos have one of the best receiving corps, if not the best, in the NFL. I say that Emmanuel Sanders is really fast and can be very reliable foe 2nd/3rd & long situations. He can be fast enough to burn whichever defensive back for a 1st down. Wes Welker is great for slots, and he could be weapon-X in Sunday's game. DeMaryius Thomas is the explosive wide receiver, so he'll likely be the ultimate go-to guy. And Julius Thomas could be used in the red zone to get the quick red zone touchdowns. But with DeMaryius likely be the go-to guy for the 49ers, so I can see Julius Thomas as Peyton's weapon. And with the running game, just follow their blockers to churn their way to big gains. And I'd see to see Juwan Thompson get his shot here against a great 49er front seven.
Flipping it around, the 49ers are ranked 31st in passing (I believe), and Colin Kaepernick will be the 3rd mobile QB the Broncos will face this season (Alex Smith & Russell Wilson were the first two). My thing is that the defensive ends must keep Kaepernick in the pocket, and wrap him up tight if he begins to run. Force Kaepernick to throw it. Make them one-dimensional. If the Broncos succeed in that, the 49ers will likely be doomed. Frank Gore won't be able to beat the Broncos by himself. And I want T.J. Ward & Bradley Roby to show that crybaby Vernon Davis that this defense means business. Have Aqib Talib focus on Crabtree. He'll be likely to get another interception. The defense just has to play smart and don't give up any big plays at all. Can't afford to give up any big plays at all.
More importantly, let's limit the penalties, Broncos. Eleven penalties against the Jets is unacceptable.
This will be first matchup between the two teams since 2010. In the last matchup between the Broncos & 49ers, the 49ers defeated the Broncos 24-16 overseas in London. The 49ers currently hold a 2-game winning streak over the Broncos and lead the head-to-head series 7-6. The last Broncos' win over the 49ers came on September 15th, 2002 (week 2) when they won 24-14 in San Francisco. The last Broncos' win over the 49ers in Denver came on December 23rd, 2000 (week 17) when the Broncos blew out the 49ers 38-9 to end legendary player Jerry Rice's tenure with the 49ers.
My prediction: The 49ers are better than the Jets, so I expect this game to be tougher. But in the end, I predict that the Broncos will win 31-24.
That's my take. GO BRONCOS!!!!!!! DB4L!!!!
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