The San Francisco 49ers host the Denver Broncos at Levi?s Stadium on Saturday, August 19 in the second game of the 2017 NFL preseason. Here is the preview with the latest news, X-factors, injuries and much more.
After holding a pair of joint practices earlier this week, the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos will actually get to hit each other in live game action today. It has become sort of an annual tradition with this matchup ? this year marks the fourth consecutive time the two teams have played in the preseason.
The two teams are in distinctly different places in terms of league standing, with Denver being ranked No. 9 in ESPN?s NFL preseason power rankings and San Francisco being ranked No. 31. The Broncos have an elite defense, and that goes a long ways in the NFL. Meanwhile, the 49ers are merely in the process of trying to emulate the defense from the Mile High City.
San Francisco is coming off a 27-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in week one of the preseason. The game featured the much-anticipated debuts of first-round picks Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster, and the pair did not disappoint.
On the defensive line, Thomas was a force to be reckoned with. His performance earned him Pro Football Focus? game ball and was one of the top defensive lineman in week one.
Not to be out-dueled by his defensive counterpart, Foster too was an impact player on the field. The rookie out of Alabama showed that not only can he play with the starters, but that he deserves to be out there with them.
Foster showed the ability to drop back in pass coverage and defend well, nearly intercepting Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith in the end zone. And now with head coach Kyle Shanahan officially naming Foster a starter, it shows the team was clearly impressed with his performance.
In all, the first week of preseason was an uneven one for the 49ers. The team did win, but there were some drawbacks. The 49ers first-team offense failed to get anything going; the first-team defense couldn?t stop the Chiefs offense; and there were 17 total penalties for San Francisco.
This next week is going to be another test for the 49ers, facing the vaunted Broncos defense. It?s the second glimpse at Shanahan?s scheme in action, and another view of the young 49ers defense.
Week 2 by the numbers
It is well-documented the abysmal nature of last year?s 49ers team, both on offense and defense. San Francisco had one of the worst rush defenses in NFL history in 2016, in total had the No. 32 overall defense, and ranked in the bottom half for passing offense.
The new regime invested a lot of capital on both sides of the ball, stocking the team with new talent in free agency and the NFL Draft. After one week of preseason, the early returns have been overwhelmingly positive:
No. 2 total offense ? 434.0 yards per game
No. 2 total defense ? 187.0 yards per game
No. 1 rushing offense ? 188.0 yards per game
No. 1 rushing defense ?? 31.0 yards per game
Conceded, it?s a tiny sample size and a majority of the game was played with backups. But just the fact that the 49ers put up those kind of numbers says something, and it has the team trending upwards.
Quarterback comparison
San Francisco
Brian Hoyer?s the definitive starter. The back-up position? Not so definitive.
From the get-go, quarterback Brian Hoyer has been the undisputed starter for the 49ers. His contract reflected that, comments by general manager John Lynch in the spring reflected that, and now his play is reflecting that. Training camp showed Hoyer is the best option the team currently has at quarterback. There?s no debate about who is the No. 1 guy in San Francisco.
Behind Hoyer on the depth is where the intrigue is starting to form. Initially, quarterback Matt Barkley was presumed to be the back-up to Hoyer. Then the team drafted C.J. Beathard from the University of Iowa, and slowly the rookie has been carving out a spot for himself on the roster.
Now, there has been a formal change with Shanahan naming Beathard the No. 2 quarterback for the game against Denver. The rookie signal-caller will be one of the top things to look for when he takes the field.
Denver
Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch are battling it out for the starting position.
It?s still up in the air as for who will be the starter for the Denver Broncos when the 2017 season kicks off ? the team has yet to make a decision on either Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch. And that?s a decision that could come very soon, highlighting the importance of this particular game for Denver (via ESPN?S Jeff Legwold):
We?d like the decision made by itself, Elway said. We?ve talked about that decision being made by itself. We want one of them to take the reins and take over; it would be the ideal situation. We?re getting through this game and we?ll go from there, see what happens.
That was Broncos general manager John Elway speaking about the quarterback competition, revealing the team is hoping to make a decision soon. The game today could play a pivotal factor in determining who gets the nod as starter.
After holding a pair of joint practices earlier this week, the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos will actually get to hit each other in live game action today. It has become sort of an annual tradition with this matchup ? this year marks the fourth consecutive time the two teams have played in the preseason.
The two teams are in distinctly different places in terms of league standing, with Denver being ranked No. 9 in ESPN?s NFL preseason power rankings and San Francisco being ranked No. 31. The Broncos have an elite defense, and that goes a long ways in the NFL. Meanwhile, the 49ers are merely in the process of trying to emulate the defense from the Mile High City.
San Francisco is coming off a 27-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in week one of the preseason. The game featured the much-anticipated debuts of first-round picks Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster, and the pair did not disappoint.
On the defensive line, Thomas was a force to be reckoned with. His performance earned him Pro Football Focus? game ball and was one of the top defensive lineman in week one.
Not to be out-dueled by his defensive counterpart, Foster too was an impact player on the field. The rookie out of Alabama showed that not only can he play with the starters, but that he deserves to be out there with them.
Foster showed the ability to drop back in pass coverage and defend well, nearly intercepting Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith in the end zone. And now with head coach Kyle Shanahan officially naming Foster a starter, it shows the team was clearly impressed with his performance.
In all, the first week of preseason was an uneven one for the 49ers. The team did win, but there were some drawbacks. The 49ers first-team offense failed to get anything going; the first-team defense couldn?t stop the Chiefs offense; and there were 17 total penalties for San Francisco.
This next week is going to be another test for the 49ers, facing the vaunted Broncos defense. It?s the second glimpse at Shanahan?s scheme in action, and another view of the young 49ers defense.
Week 2 by the numbers
It is well-documented the abysmal nature of last year?s 49ers team, both on offense and defense. San Francisco had one of the worst rush defenses in NFL history in 2016, in total had the No. 32 overall defense, and ranked in the bottom half for passing offense.
The new regime invested a lot of capital on both sides of the ball, stocking the team with new talent in free agency and the NFL Draft. After one week of preseason, the early returns have been overwhelmingly positive:
No. 2 total offense ? 434.0 yards per game
No. 2 total defense ? 187.0 yards per game
No. 1 rushing offense ? 188.0 yards per game
No. 1 rushing defense ?? 31.0 yards per game
Conceded, it?s a tiny sample size and a majority of the game was played with backups. But just the fact that the 49ers put up those kind of numbers says something, and it has the team trending upwards.
Quarterback comparison
San Francisco
Brian Hoyer?s the definitive starter. The back-up position? Not so definitive.
From the get-go, quarterback Brian Hoyer has been the undisputed starter for the 49ers. His contract reflected that, comments by general manager John Lynch in the spring reflected that, and now his play is reflecting that. Training camp showed Hoyer is the best option the team currently has at quarterback. There?s no debate about who is the No. 1 guy in San Francisco.
Behind Hoyer on the depth is where the intrigue is starting to form. Initially, quarterback Matt Barkley was presumed to be the back-up to Hoyer. Then the team drafted C.J. Beathard from the University of Iowa, and slowly the rookie has been carving out a spot for himself on the roster.
Now, there has been a formal change with Shanahan naming Beathard the No. 2 quarterback for the game against Denver. The rookie signal-caller will be one of the top things to look for when he takes the field.
Denver
Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch are battling it out for the starting position.
It?s still up in the air as for who will be the starter for the Denver Broncos when the 2017 season kicks off ? the team has yet to make a decision on either Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch. And that?s a decision that could come very soon, highlighting the importance of this particular game for Denver (via ESPN?S Jeff Legwold):
We?d like the decision made by itself, Elway said. We?ve talked about that decision being made by itself. We want one of them to take the reins and take over; it would be the ideal situation. We?re getting through this game and we?ll go from there, see what happens.
That was Broncos general manager John Elway speaking about the quarterback competition, revealing the team is hoping to make a decision soon. The game today could play a pivotal factor in determining who gets the nod as starter.
