Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers received the opening kick, and Mac Jones took the field with Demarcus Robinson and Jordan Watkins as the starting wide receivers. Speaking of Watkins, he made an impression on the first drive, catching a deep pass from Jones:
Patrick Taylor Jr. would cap off a run in the red zone to give the 49ers an early 7-0 lead. Jones looked sharp early, and Robinson was also involved. I think we can get accustomed to seeing Robinson targeted heavily.
Upton Stout didn’t suit up. Alfred Collins played one series. We still saw a defense full of backups force a punt against Bo Nix and the Denver starters. The second drive yielded an even better result. Bo Nix did his best Jimmy Garoppolo impression with an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone, giving the Niners an early 9-0 lead.
It wouldn’t be all sunshine and rainbows for Jones as he tried to find Watkins on a comeback outside of the numbers, but the ball was underthrown and late. Whether it’s the regular season, preseason, or practice, you’re lucky to get those passes back. Jones didn’t, and that would be his first interception of the game.
Dallis Flowers made an impressive tackle in run support. It was a similar play in which Taylor Jr. scored a touchdown, where the cornerback is unblocked, and the running back needs to make a play. Taylor Jr. did. Denver’s back did not. Darrell Luter nearly had an interception in the end zone on the drive. That pass breakup limited the Broncos to a field goal to make it 9-3.
The 49ers’ special teams almost made it two quarters without any blunders. Denver came close to scoring a touchdown on a punt return, returning one for 25 yards. Thomas Morstead’s punt was only 39 yards. So, a double whammy there.
Tatum Bethune was shaken up and needed medical attention. The trainers looked like they were spatting Bethune’s right ankle and adding as much tape as they could so he could function. Bethune ended up walking off the field. Bethune would end up being questionable to return.
The biggest takeaway from the first half was the different looks from Robert Saleh. We saw blitzes off the edge from defensive backs, edge rushers crossing the faces of offensive tackles, and more than your typical Cover 3. It can not be understated how much of an upgrade it will be for the 49ers to have Saleh calling the plays.
Carter Bradley made his 49ers debut. He threw an interception directly to the linebacker, which was suboptimal. On the broadcast, Fred Warner said, “That’s all right, we’ll get it back.”
At the end of the first half, the secondary had a busted coverage. Darrell Luter Jr. and Chase Lucas both went with the underneath route, and that left a wide open receiver in the end zone for a touchdown. That won’t make Saleh happy. Denver led 13-9.
Rookie safety Marques Sigle was questionable to return with a...
