Peyton Manning Shines Despite Broncos Loss to 49ers

Peyton Manning gave every Denver Bronco fan a glimpse of what they can accomplish this season. Manning was absolutely stellar and was not intimidated by one of the NFL's best defenses.

The Hall of Fame quarterback came out of the gates on fire, going 10-of-12 for 122 yards and (the big statistic that has got everyone up in arms) two touchdowns—the first he has thrown during the preseason and as a member of the Broncos.

Both of his touchdowns strikes were to Eric Decker, who has proven to be Manning's favorite target early in the year.

What makes Manning's performance during Week 3 of the preseason are two things. One, it was done against the 49ers defense, who finished in the top five last year. Two, he accomplished all these statistics before the first quarter ended.

Think about that, Manning torched one of the best defenses for 17 points before the opening quarter ended. This is exactly what every Bronco fans have been dreaming about in the offseason and the reason they think they're team has a chance of going to New Orleans.

Denver is nowhere close to where their potential could be, but the fact that Manning and the Broncos played that well against the 49ers have to give them hopes of making this season memorable.

What I liked: 

• Eric Decker. Decker could be on pace for a special year. Like I said earlier, he is Manning's favorite target and got all the looks in the red zone. He was even the target of Caleb Hanie on two passes, one which he dropped. He had four catches for 38 yards and the two touchdown grabs.
• Denver's first-string defense. Except for one big communication error on a Vernon Davis touchdown catch, they played great. They were able to get off the field on third downs and held the 49ers offense in check.  
• Denver's pass protection. Keeping Manning upright will always be the key and Sunday they did exactly that. Manning only took two hits but no sacks. He also had plenty of time to dissect the 49ers defense. 

What I didn't like:  

• Denver's run game. I'm not going to say this is going to haunt the Broncos, but only getting 83 yards on the ground won't cut it. Willis McGahee had seven carries for 27 yards, not horrible, but not great. Ronnie Hillman led the team in rushing with 29 yards on 10 carries. You'd like to see Denver have more of an impact on the ground than what they have been showing in the preseason.
• Brock Osweiler. He had a chance to possibly get a crack at being the second quarterback on the depth chart behind Manning. He didn't have a good showing against the 49ers, going 4-of-9 for just 27 yards. Not exactly stellar play especially after Hanie led the Broncos on a scoring drive.