49ers Stay Perfect at 4-0, Pulling Away From Broncos in the Second Half

It took a half for San Francisco's offense to wake up, but once it did, there was no stopping the NFL's last unbeaten teams from thinning out. The 49ers shook off a sluggish first half and scored three second-half touchdowns to beat the Denver Broncos 24-14 on Sunday in Santa Clara, improving to 4-0 for the second time in four seasons.

The teams combined for just 15 first downs and 315 total yards in a 3-3 opening half. The turning point came early in the third quarter, when Denver's Marvin Mims Jr. fumbled a punt return and Siran Neal recovered, setting up a short field. Brock Purdy flipped a one-yard touchdown pass to Deebo Samuel four minutes into the half, and the 49ers never trailed again.

Purdy finished 19-for-30 for 218 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, with Mike Evans his favorite target at five catches for 76 yards. Christian McCaffrey punched in a one-yard score to stretch the lead, then tight end George Kittle delivered the dagger, taking a short screen 56 yards to the house while San Francisco tried to run out the clock. Eddy Pineiro added a 24-yard field goal.

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw, facing his former team, anchored the defense with 12 tackles. Denver's Bo Nix went 25-for-42 for 214 yards, and Jaylen Waddle's 13-yard touchdown plus a two-point run briefly cut the deficit to 17-14 with four minutes left. The Broncos (2-2) had to settle for Wil Lutz's 40-yard field goal on their previous trip after stalling at the San Francisco 22. Kyle Juszczyk also left the game hurt after a 16-yard catch that set up a score.