49ers vs. Broncos: Score and Twitter Reaction from Sunday Night Football

On a night when Peyton Manning broke the individual record for career touchdown passes, the Denver Broncos used a complete team effort to hand the San Francisco 49ers a 42-17 lashing.

Manning, of course, was the story of the night after completing 22 of his 26 throws for 318 yards and four touchdowns, putting him in front of Brett Favre on the all-time list with 510 passing scores:

But the Broncos dominated every facet of the game.

Demaryius Thomas caught eight passes for 171 yards and a pair of scores, including Manning's record-breaking 509th touchdown pass. Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders nabbed their first touchdown grabs of the season. Ronnie Hillman ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns.

It was a historical lowlight for the Niners under Jim Harbaugh and Vic Fangio, per the San Jose Mercury News' Cam Inman:

The Denver defense wasn't to be outdone. Jack Del Rio's group stifled Frank Gore (nine carries, 20 yards), recorded six sacks and held the Niners to a meager 4.4 yards per play. Denver outgained San Francisco 419 to 310, a margin that shrunk considerably when the game was already decided in the fourth quarter.

Manning, who entered the game two touchdowns behind Favre's 508, needed just two possessions to tie the record.

He connected with Sanders for a three-yard strike on the team's first drive, and about five minutes later, Welker got free down the sideline for a 39-yard score.

To break the record, Manning went to the man who has been the most prolific pass-catcher during his time in Denver: Thomas. Here's a look at the record-breaker, which put the Broncos ahead, 21-3, with 3:09 left in the second quarter:

Manning received an outpouring of congratulations via Twitter, including from the new No. 2, Favre, and NBA superstar LeBron James:

The NFL's Twitter feed, meanwhile, provided a unique look at the distribution of all his touchdown throws:

Manning wasn't done there. He connected with Thomas again, this time for a 40-yard touchdown, and Hillman tacked on two more scores for a 42-10 lead—capping drives of 86 and 73 yards—before the third quarter was even over.

NFL.com's Adam Caplan praised Hillman, who has mostly underachieved and frustrated early in his career:

On the other side of the ball, Colin Kaepernick finished with 263 yards, a touchdown and several nice throws on the run, but he was under a lot of pressure and got very little help from the running game.

Fortunately for San Francisco, which is dealing with a multitude of injuries on the O-line and defense, a Week 8 bye comes at the perfect time.

The red-hot Broncos, clicking at every level on the gridiron, won't have to wait long to attempt to build off one of the best performances of the season, as a crucial AFC West battle against the San Diego Chargers awaits on Thursday night.

Philip Rivers is playing tremendous football, but he'll have to try to keep up with the No. 1 touchdown passer of all time.