Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers

Injuries noted

Denver Broncos: Caleb Lohner (IR-R) — Lohner (lower body) was placed on injured reserve by the Broncos on Sunday with a designation to return, Aric DiLalla of the team's official website reports.; Nick Gargiulo (PUP-R) — Gargiulo (knee) was moved to the reserve/PUP list by the Broncos on Sunday, Aric DiLalla of the team's official site reports.; Michael Deiter (IR) — ir; Matt Henningsen (IR) — ir; Levelle Bailey (IR) — Bailey (leg) reverted to the Broncos' injured-reserve list Friday, Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post reports.; Frank Crum (IR-R) — Crum (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve with a designation to return by the Broncos on Sunday, Aric DiLalla of the team's official site reports.; Marvin Mims Jr. (Questionable) — questionable; Jonah Coleman (IR) — Coleman (ankle) is being placed on injured reserve Saturday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.; Jaylen Waddle (Questionable) — Waddle is believed to be "fine" despite being seen wearing a walking boot on his right foot following Sunday's victory over the Rams, Sam Jane of The Denver Post reports.; Dondrea Tillman (Out) — Tillman (hamstring) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the 49ers.

San Francisco 49ers: Isaac Guerendo (PUP-R) — Guerendo (pectoral) was placed on the reserve/PUP list Sunday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.; Brandon Aiyuk (Reserve-DNR) — Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Sunday that he's not viewing Aiyuk as an option for the 49ers while the club contends with multiple injuries at receiver, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.; Christian Kirk (IR-R) — Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Friday that the 49ers could open Kirk's (calf) practice window to return from injured reserve in two weeks, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.; Mykel Williams (PUP-R) — The 49ers opened Williams' (knee) 21-day practice window Wednesday to return from the reserve/PUP list, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.; Ricky Pearsall (IR) — Knee - PCL; Andrew Farmer II (IR) — Back; Darrick Forrest (IR) — Undisclosed; Mikail Kamara (IR) — Knee; Sam Okuayinonu (IR) — Okuayinonu broke his foot in practice last week and is set to have surgery to repair the issue, Matt Barrows of The Athletic reports.; Brett Toth (IR) — The 49ers placed Toth (concussion) on injured reserve Sunday.; Nate Hobbs (IR) — ir; Nick Martin (IR) — The 49ers placed Martin (hamstring) on injured reserve Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.; Austen Pleasants (IR-R) — The 49ers placed Pleasants (knee) on injured reserve with a designation to return Sunday.; Nick Zakelj (IR) — Zakelj (undisclosed) was placed on the 49ers' injured reserve Sunday.; Alfred Collins (IR) — San Francisco placed Collins (knee) on injured reserve Thursday.; De'Zhaun Stribling (IR) — The 49ers placed Stribling (ankle) on injured reserve Saturday.; Jake Tonges (IR) — Tonges (knee) requires surgery for an MCL tear and is done for the season, Cam Inman reports.; Keion White (Questionable) — questionable; Romello Height (Questionable) — questionable; Demarcus Robinson (IR) — The 49ers placed Robinson (ankle) on injured reserve Saturday.; Mike Evans (Questionable) — Evans (ribs) has said "he'll do his best to be out there" Sunday against the Broncos, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.; James Thompson Jr. (Out) — Thompson (ankle) won't play in San Francisco's Week 4 matchup versus the Broncos, Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.; C.J. West (IR) — The 49ers placed West (undisclosed) on injured reserve Wednesday.; Nick Bosa (Out) — Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday that Bosa (calf) won't play this coming Sunday against the Broncos, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports.; Dre Greenlaw (Questionable) — Greenlaw (quadriceps) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Denver.; KhaDarel Hodge (Questionable) — Hodge (knee) did not practice Wednesday, Vic Tafur of The Athletic reports.; Jaden Dugger (Questionable) — questionable

QUARTERBACK

• Bo Nix is the projected starting quarterback for DEN

  6.5 Y/A

  Through 3 games in 2026, Bo Nix threw for 605 passing yards, completed 60.2% of his passes and averaged 6.5 yards per attempt. Last season over 17 games he threw for 3931 yards, completed 63.4% and averaged 6.42 yards per attempt, 25-11 touchdowns to interceptions. This season's 4-3 touchdown-to-interception line is 3 games in.

• Brock Purdy is the projected starting quarterback for SF

  9.51 Y/A

  Through 3 games in 2026, Brock Purdy threw for 789 passing yards, completed 72.3% of his passes and averaged 9.51 yards per attempt. Last season over 9 games he threw for 2167 yards, completed 69.4% and averaged 7.63 yards per attempt, 20-10 touchdowns to interceptions. This season's 9-1 touchdown-to-interception line is 3 games in.

TRENCHES

• SF: 105.7 rushing yards allowed per game to DEN's 143.7

  38 YPG

  DEN is at 143.7 rushing yards allowed per game over 3 games; SF is at 105.7 over 3 games. Those are what each defense has allowed in this season's games through Oct 3.

PASS RUSH

• SF: 0 sacks taken per game to DEN's 1.67

  1.67 SACKS

  DEN is at 1.67 sacks taken per game over 3 games; SF is at 0 over 3 games. Those are this season's games through Oct 3. Last season DEN was at 1.77 over 17 games and SF at 1.8 over 17 games.

• SF: 0 sack yards lost per game to DEN's 7.7

  7.7 YDS

  DEN is at 7.7 sack yards lost per game over 3 games; SF is at 0 over 3 games. Those are this season's games through Oct 3. Last season DEN was at 9.5 over 17 games and SF at 10.7 over 17 games.

• DEN: 2.67 sacks recorded per game to SF's 2

  0.67 SACKS

  DEN is at 2.67 sacks recorded per game over 3 games; SF is at 2 over 3 games. Those are what each defense has allowed in this season's games through Oct 3.

PACE & SCRIPT

• SF: 32.7 points per game to DEN's 20

  12.7 PPG

  DEN is at 20 points per game over 3 games; SF is at 32.7 over 3 games. Those are this season's games through Oct 3. Last season DEN was at 23.6 over 17 games and SF at 25.7 over 17 games.

• SF: 16.7 points allowed per game to DEN's 23.3

  6.7 PPG

  DEN is at 23.3 points allowed per game over 3 games; SF is at 16.7 over 3 games. Those are this season's games through Oct 3. Last season DEN was at 18.3 over 17 games and SF at 21.8 over 17 games.

TURNOVERS

• DEN: 1.33 takeaways per game to SF's 0.67

  0.67 TO

  Denver has forced 1.33 takeaways a game over 3 games, double San Francisco's 0.67. In raw terms that is four turnovers against two, a gap of two plays. Takeaways are the noisiest defensive stat and rarely hold their pace across a season. Denver's edge is real on the sheet but too thin to lean on in this game.

• SF: 0.67 turnovers committed per game to DEN's 1.33

  0.67 TO

  DEN is at 1.33 turnovers committed per game over 3 games; SF is at 0.67 over 3 games. Those are this season's games through Oct 3. Last season DEN was at 1 over 17 games and SF at 1.29 over 17 games.

• SF: 0.33 interceptions thrown per game to DEN's 1

  0.67 INT

  DEN is at 1 interceptions thrown per game over 3 games; SF is at 0.33 over 3 games. Those are this season's games through Oct 3. Last season DEN was at 0.65 over 17 games and SF at 0.94 over 17 games.

EXPLOSIVE PLAYS

• SF: 7.47 yards per play to DEN's 4.87

  2.6 Y/P

  DEN is at 4.87 yards per play over 3 games; SF is at 7.47 over 3 games. Those are this season's games through Oct 3. Last season DEN was at 5.32 over 17 games and SF at 5.49 over 17 games.

RED ZONE

• SF: 90% red-zone scoring rate to DEN's 60%

  30 PP

  DEN is at 60% red-zone scoring rate over 3 games; SF is at 90% over 3 games. Those are this season's games through Oct 3. Last season DEN was at 57.9% over 17 games and SF at 65.2% over 17 games.

MISMATCH

• SF: 7.47 yards a snap to DEN's 4.87

  7.47 VS 4.87

  San Francisco's offense is gaining 7.47 yards a snap through 3 games, and Denver's is at 4.87. Last season they were nearly level, San Francisco at 5.49 and Denver at 5.32 over 17 games, so San Francisco's jump is the outlier and likely cools some. Denver needs long, patient drives to shorten the game and keep that offense on the sideline. If Denver stalls early, San Francisco's per-play edge has more chances to show up on the scoreboard.

COVERAGE

• SF: 4.9 yards per play allowed to DEN's 5.57

  0.67 Y/P

  DEN is at 5.57 yards per play allowed over 3 games; SF is at 4.9 over 3 games. Those are what each defense has allowed in this season's games through Oct 3.

• SF: 207.3 passing yards allowed per game to DEN's 237

  29.7 YPG

  DEN is at 237 passing yards allowed per game over 3 games; SF is at 207.3 over 3 games. Those are what each defense has allowed in this season's games through Oct 3.

REPLACEMENT

• Christian Kirk (WR) is ir-r for SF

  IR-R

  Kirk is on injured reserve with a calf injury and still a ways off. Kyle Shanahan said Friday the 49ers could open his practice window in two weeks, which rules him out against Denver and leaves the receiver group thin. Expect the targets to stay with the healthy wideouts and tight end until his window opens.

• Mykel Williams (DE) is pup-r for SF

  PUP-R

  Williams is on the PUP list with a knee injury, and the 49ers opened his 21-day practice window Wednesday, Sep 30. That starts the clock on a return, though he still needs to be activated to face Denver. Check the final injury report before counting on him in the pass rush.

• Brandon Aiyuk (WR) is reserve-dnr for SF

  RESERVE-DNR

  Aiyuk is on the reserve list and Kyle Shanahan said Sep 21 he is not viewing him as an option, even with the 49ers short at receiver. Kirk and Demarcus Robinson are also on injured reserve, so San Francisco is thin at the position against Denver. Do not expect Aiyuk to factor in.

• Jonah Coleman (RB) is on injured reserve for DEN

  IR

  Coleman went on injured reserve Sep 26 with an ankle injury, so he is out at San Francisco. The carries he would have handled go to the other Denver backs.

• Demarcus Robinson (WR) is on injured reserve for SF

  IR

  Robinson went on injured reserve Sep 26 with an ankle injury, so he misses Denver. He joins Kirk on injured reserve, which leaves the 49ers short at receiver. The healthy wideouts and tight end pick up his targets.

• C.J. West (DT) is on injured reserve for SF

  IR

  West went on injured reserve Sep 23 with an undisclosed injury, so he is out against Denver. His snaps on the defensive interior go to the other 49ers tackles.

PRACTICE REPORT

• Nick Bosa

  Out

  Knee, Calf · Did not practice · Out

• James Thompson Jr.

  Out

  Ankle · Did not practice · Out

• Dondrea Tillman

  Out

  Hamstring · Did not practice · Out

• Dre Greenlaw

  Questionable

  Quadricep · Limited practice · Questionable

• Jaden Dugger

  Questionable

  Shoulder · Limited practice · Questionable

• Keion White

  Questionable

  Hamstring · Limited practice · Questionable

• Mike Evans

  Questionable

  Ribs · Limited practice · Questionable

• Romello Height

  LP

  Limited practice

• J.K. Dobbins

  FP

  Full practice

• Marvin Mims Jr.

  FP

  Full practice

• Zach Allen

  FP

  Full practice

• D.J. Jones

  FP

  Full practice

• Christian McCaffrey

  FP

  Full practice

• Jaylen Waddle

  FP

  Full practice

• Trent Williams

  FP

  Full practice

SITUATIONAL

• DEN (2-1) at SF (3-0)

  +58 PT GAP

  Denver has won two straight, but a 2-1 team at -10 points has been winning close and losing big, so the record flatters them. San Francisco is +48 through three games and 2-0 at home, which is a real margin even in a short sample. Denver has played one road game and lost it, so that split is one game deep. The win streaks look similar on paper, and the point totals show these teams arriving in very different shape.

STREAK

• SF has won 3 straight

  W3

  San Francisco is 3-0 and hosts Denver. Three games is a short run, and the sheet does not show who those wins came against, so the quality of the start is hard to judge. Unbeaten home favorites tend to attract heavy public backing, which can stretch a line. Weigh whether the number fits the matchup or just the record.

AFTER GARY

• SF -2.5 → -2.5

  GARY +1.23PP

  Gary's number was -2.5; the same book now shows -2.5.