LISTEN: 49ers Smell Revenge With 94 WIP's Eliot Shorr-Parks →
placeholder image

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports


Christian Ponder’s 2 touchdowns lift 49ers past Broncos 31-24

Aug 20, 2016 at 9:13 PM--


Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Tot
SF 0 17 0 14 31
DEN 7 3 7 7 24


QB Christian Ponder was just signed by the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday, but he would end up being the quarterback that looked the most efficient on Saturday night against the Denver Broncos.

The 49ers started the game winning the coin toss and elected to begin on defense. The Broncos' starting offense took advantage and efficiently march down the field on the first drive of the game, capping it off with a 19-yard run into the end zone by RB C.J. Anderson.

RELATED Colin Kaepernick throws before Denver game

Among those out for tonight's game were defensive ends Arik Armstead and rookie DeForest Buckner. OLB Aaron Lynch was also not in uniform after being poked in the eye during a skirmish with the Broncos earlier this week. That eliminates most of the players that the 49ers defense hopes to use to generate a pass rush this season.


With QB Colin Kaepernick still unable to go, Blaine Gabbert got his second straight start of preseason. The suffocating Broncos defense prevented the 49ers from gaining a first down on their opening drive, forcing the 49ers to quickly punt.

Broncos QB Trevor Siemian had been picking apart the 49ers defense, going 10 of 11 for 75 yards before throwing an interception to 49ers FS Eric Reid, who returned the football to the end zone to tie the game up at 7-7. Reid had missed last weekend's game against the Texans to be present for the birth of his baby girl. It was a short night for most of the 49ers starting defense, who exited the game following the interception.


Early in the second quarter, the 49ers offense put together a 6-play, 63-yard drive, which ended with a 4-yard run by RB Carlos Hyde into the end zone to put the 49ers up 14-7. The drive started with a Gabbert pass to WR DeAndrew White, playing in place of the injured Bruce Ellington, for 17 yards. White was practicing well during training camp and has become one of Gabbert's most comfortable targets.


Gabbert finished the night 6 of 9 passing for 69 yards passing and the Broncos' Siemian would finish 10 of 14 for 75 yards and an interception. However, he failed to complete any of his three final throws, including the interception. Rookie Jeff Driskel replaced Gabbert in the second quarter. He finished the game 6 of 7 for 66 yards passing.

The two teams exchanged field goals, with the 49ers maintaining a 17-10 lead heading into halftime. The 49ers went into the half with nine first downs for 163 total yards of offense. 95 yards came through the air and 68 on the ground. The 49ers defense allowed 18 first downs for 255 total yards in the first half.

SF DEN
First Downs 19 31
Total Yards 400 406
Passing Yards 216 282
Rushing Yards 184 124
Penalties (Yds) 5 (45) 8 (45)
Turnovers 3 4
Punts (AVG) 5 (39) 6 (38)
Time of Pos. 25:19 34:41

RB Mike Davis, who had a surprisingly great game against the Texans last week, fumbled the ball twice against the Texans – perhaps lowering his stock a bit. He finished the game with 21 yards rushing on four carries.

RB DuJuan Harris nearly increased the lead by two touchdowns with a near-score in the third quarter, but he fumbled the ball in the end zone and Broncos DB John Tidwell recovered it for a touchback.

The Broncos tied the game 17-17 in the third quarter off of a touchdown pass from rookie QB Paxton Lynch to TE John Phillips. The Broncos are involved in a quarterback competition themselves with Siemian and Sanchez being the frontrunners, but Lynch was the only one to throw a touchdown pass against the 49ers.

San Francisco 49ers Leaders
Passing CP/AT YDS TD INT
C. Ponder 7/8 86 1 0
B. Gabbert 6/9 69 0 0
J. Driskel 6/7 66 0 0
Rushing CAR YDS TD LG
K. Taylor 10 47 0 24
D. Harris 7 46 0 11
Receiving REC YDS TD LG
V. McDonald 3 38 0 19
D. White 2 30 0 17
G. Celek 2 14 0 9

Ponder entered the game late in the third quarter and play to completion. He was asked on Wednesday if he expected to play against the Broncos, who were his favorite team growing up. "Yeah, I'd like to play," said Ponder. "I think it won't be the full playbook, but hopefully we come up with a plan about what I can do in a game and go out and play. It will be fun to compete and get out there."

Not even knowing the full playbook didn't appear to set Ponder back, who went on to help the 49ers regain the lead in the fourth quarter capping off a 15-play, 75-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown run. The run into the end zone gave the 49ers the 24-17 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the game. Ponder was 5 of 6 for 33 yards on the scoring drive.


Ponder followed that drive with another scoring one, this time finding WR Dres Anderson in the end zone. That ended up being a 5-play, 83-yard touchdown drive to put the 49ers up 31-17. Ponder finished the game 7 of 8 for 86 yards and two touchdowns with one coming on the ground.


A late Broncos score on a pass from Lynch to WR Durron Neal brought Denver within a score, but the 49ers held on to win the game 31-24 following an interception of Lynch by CB Kenneth Acker.

San Francisco will next host the Green Bay Packers at Levi's Stadium on Friday, August 26. The coaching staff hopes to ease quarterback Kaepernick back into practice this week to prepare him to play against the Packers, which would be his first action of preseason and the first time he has taken the field since November 1, 2015 against the then-St. Louis Rams.


Injuries


WR Bryce Treggs is believed to have suffered a torn MCL following a 25-yard reception from Driskel. He will have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. A torn MCL would not be season ending and would not necessarily even require surgery.

Notes and Quotes


Head coach Chip Kelly said that Ponder had never run the play that resulted in a 30-yard touchdown pass to Anderson. "Maybe we should do that more often," said Kelly.

"He's got a really good understanding of what we're doing right now," said Kelly regarding Gabbert.

"That's the most fun I've had on a football field in a long time," said Ponder following the victory.

Related News




Poll

  • Will Christian Ponder make the final roster?
  • Yes
    78%
  • No
    22%
  • 104 votes



Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News


placeholder image

49ers Notebook: Nine years later, 49ers get Thanksgiving revenge over Seahawks; Shanahan, Purdy discuss key throws vs. Seahawks; What happened to Christian McCaffrey's helmet?

By Kirk Larrabee
Nov 24

It took nine years, but the San Francisco 49ers finally got some payback on Thursday night for the Seattle Seahawks feasting on turkey after a win at Levi's Stadium in 2014. The Seahawks' 19-3 win over the 49ers on Thanksgiving in 2014 was the last time either team played on Thanksgiving before Thursday night, and after that game then-Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman dug into the postgame turkey at the 50-yard line of Levi's Stadium at a time when the rivalry between the two teams was at a peak. The 49ers flipped the script on Thursday, notching a 31-13 win over the Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle that was followed by a slew of 49ers getting their fill of Thanksgiving turkey, courtesy of NBC. "That was a moment I'll remember


placeholder image

49ers RB Christian McCaffrey earns 4th FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week nomination this season

By David Bonilla
Nov 27

For the fourth time this season, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has been nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week. He previously won following Weeks 1, 2, and 4. The latest nomination comes after the 49ers' Week 12 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thanksgiving. McCaffrey ran for 114 yards on 19 carries (6.0 average) and two touchdowns and caught five passes for 25 yards in the


placeholder image

49ers' Christian McCaffrey named FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week for 4th time this season

By David Bonilla
Nov 29

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has won his fourth FedEx Ground Player of the Week award this season. The latest honor comes after the 49ers' Thanksgiving victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 12. He previously won the award following Weeks 1, 2, and


placeholder image

Christian McCaffrey breaks another 49ers record: Key stats from the 31-13 win vs. Seahawks

By Site Staff
Nov 23

The San Francisco 49ers improved to 8-3 on the season after a 31-13 Week 12 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington. Below are several statistics and notes from Thursday's game, which were provided by the 49ers Communications staff. With the Win... San Francisco improved to 3-2-1 all-time when playing on Thanksgiving Day. The 49ers have won each of the previous 3 regular season matchups against the Seahawks, including winning consecutive road games against the Seahawks for the first time in franchise history. San Francisco has won 10-consecutive regular season games against NFC West opponents, which ties the Seattle Seahawks for


Latest

Trending News

Share 49ersWebzone