Broncos, playoff chances collapse against 49ers

[Glasgow]

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- On the same field that hosted Super Bowl 50, one of the greatest games in Denver Broncos history, the team collapsed on itself Sunday, like a dying star.

For three weeks the Broncos had fought, scraped and clawed their way back to .500 and had put themselves on the fringe of the AFC's playoff race. And then, despite another scramble to the finish, they made quite the football mess at Levi's Stadium in a 20-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

"We didn't play well in the first half, obviously, defensively we gave [George] Kittle way too many opportunities ... and that's unacceptable, and offensively we had about 69 yards in the first seven drives; we did not play well in the first half at all," said Broncos coach Vance Joseph. " ... In the second half ... we tried, the guys played hard ... simply we didn't play well, no excuses."

How bad was it? Start with Kittle, the 49ers tight end, being mentioned in the same sentence as Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in the single-game portion of the 49ers record book. Toss in more than a few penalties, including five defensive penalties on one San Francisco scoring drive alone. Add an offense that spent much of the day spinning its wheels, and finish it off with a general lack of desperation for a team that said it had plenty.

Put it all together and the Broncos got what they deserved. This loss is on them, and if this doesn't prove just how valuable a player cornerback Chris Harris Jr. is, then you're just not looking.

"We got outplayed," said Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe. "They just outplayed us."

The Broncos had opened the day with a sliver of a playoff chance and the old take-care-of-their-own-business opportunity, but they didn't take care of their business. Nowhere did it show up more than in how the Broncos handled Kittle, who came into the game with 33 more receptions and 576 more receiving yards than the next 49ers player.

It sounds and looks like the Broncos had only one job, and yet the Broncos couldn't reel in Kittle until the second half, when the 49ers went into run mode to grind the clock. With Harris out after he suffered a fractured fibula against the Bengals, the Broncos have limited options, but there were times in the first half it looked like they were running things on defense they hadn't practiced.

As a result, Kittle had 94 yards receiving at the end of the first quarter, 210 yards receiving at halftime -- the most receiving yards any Broncos defense had surrendered to any tight end in any full game. He did it against a defense trying to cover up the fact its best player in coverage -- Harris -- is recovering from a fractured fibula.

"People don't have to talk about [Kittle] for us to know he's good, he's a thousand-yard receiver at tight end," said Broncos safety Su'a Cravens. " ... It's not frustrating, we're all professionals, he's going to make his plays, and we've got to make our plays. We just beat ourselves, plays we normally make, we weren't making them."