49ers vs. Broncos: Peyton Manning Quiets Skeptics in 29-24 Loss

Peyton Manning was having trouble throwing to his right. Peyton Manning hadn't thrown a touchdown pass. Peyton Manning hadn't taken a big hit. Peyton Manning hadn't completed a pass deeper than 20 yards.

Headed into the somewhat important third preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, there remained a lot of skepticism about Manning's health and ability. On Sunday afternoon Manning quieted the skeptics with a 10-for-12 passing performance, complete with two touchdowns and a 38-yard bomb down the right sideline after taking a huge hit. 

Manning was almost perfect and only threw two incomplete passes against the vaunted 49ers defense. It really couldn't have gone much better for Manning in his final tune-up before the regular season. Not only did Manning have a good passing performance, he completed passes to six different receivers before taking a seat with 46 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

After allowing a quick score on a long pass from Alex Smith to Vernon Davis shortly after charging out to a 17-0 lead, the Broncos defense was able to bottle up the 49ers' rushing offense and limit the passing game.

The one area of concern for the Broncos on defense was their ability to stop the run, and they did that against the 49ers. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter combined for just nine rushing yards on six carries.

Stopping the run didn't come at the expense of good pass defense as the Broncos held Smith to 5-for-7 passing and 69 yards, with 44 yards coming on the long touchdown completion to Davis. Getting a lead makes a defense more effective, and that certainly was the case on Sunday afternoon in Denver. 

The Broncos led 24-10 at the end of the half when most of the starters excited the game, but depth could be a problem. The Broncos allowed 19 points in the second half and scored zero. It was basically a tale of two halves. Once the starters left the game, the Broncos had trouble scoring and stopping the run.

With Manning and the other starters in regular-season form, the final preseason game Thursday night at Arizona will be used to tune up the reserves and perhaps determine a few of the final roster spots. 

Other Notes

At one point in the second half Danny Trevathan was playing middle linebacker while Nate Irving was playing strong-side linebacker. Trevathan has been an outside linebacker and Irving a middle linebacker, so it's clear the Broncos were doing a little experimenting with their reserves.

Veteran cornerback Drayton Florence has a tough night and allowed multiple receptions while playing in mostly man coverage and against the talent-poor No. 2 49ers offense. At this point it looks like Chris Harris has passed him on the depth chart and Florence will be strictly a reserve cornerback. It would not be inconceivable if Florence was released on Friday.

Rookie running back Ronnie Hillman got his first action of the preseason and rushed 10 times for 29 yards. Hillman figures heavily into Denver's plans, but has fallen significantly behind because of all the time he missed in training camp. 

The Broncos' offensive line did a good job of getting push on a good 49ers defensive front in the running game, but showed some cracks in protection for the first time this preseason. Manning took one big hit and was forced to quickly check down to a running back on two other occasions.