Brock Purdy leads undefeated 49ers to 24-14 win over Broncos

Cam Inman, The Mercury News on Oct 4, 2026

Published in Football

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — George Kittle caught Brock Purdy’s short pass, burst into the open field, and triumphantly took the San Francisco 49ers’ undefeated record for a joyride.

Kittle’s 56-yard, catch-and-run touchdown secured Sunday’s 24-14 victory over the Denver Broncos, capping off a three-game homestand and rewarding fans who sat through the second-hottest game in Levi’s Stadium’s history.

The 49ers are 4-0 and heading next Sunday to Seattle, site of last season’s 41-6, divisional-round exit to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Seahawks.

The Broncos (2-2) proved a worthy sparring partner.

But once Kittle caught Purdy’s pass at the Niners’ 41-yard line, he and his surgically repaired right Achilles raced to pay dirt, with former 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga chasing him across the goal line with 2:15 remaining in this non-conference tilt.

The first to embrace Kittle after his celebratory spike was linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who had a team-high 12 tackles. Greenlaw appeared to shout at Broncos coach Sean Payton before being restrained and running to the 49ers’ locker room.

Purdy was just 10 of 20 for 89 yards before producing three touchdown drives over the final 20 minutes. He finished 19 of 30 for 218 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and for the fourth straight game, no sacks.

His 1-yard touchdown pass to an open Deebo Samuel put the 49ers’ ahead 10-3 with 4:15 remaining in the third quarter.

Even after Christian McCaffrey’s 1-yard touchdown run made it 17-6 with 8:52 to go, the Broncos stayed alive and showed the form that led them to fourth-quarter comeback wins in their previous two games, against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Rams.

The 49ers’ lead was down to 17-14 with 4:05 remaining once Bo Nix completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle (against Jack Jones’ coverage), followed by Tyler Badie’s 2-point conversion run.

It was the Broncos, however, who opened the door for the 49ers’ second-half surge. Siran Neal recovered a fumble by Broncos’ punt returner Marvin Mim’s Jr. at the Denver 28-yard line, and the 49ers’ first touchdown drive followed, that being Purdy’s touchdown pass to a wide open Samuel near the left pylon.

That initial touchdown drive stayed alive thanks to a fourth-and-1, direct snap to Kaelon Black for a 2-yard gain to the 17-yard line. Was it intentional, however? Purdy was lined up in shotgun formation and Jake Brendel’s snap ricocheted in the air to Black, who was on Purdy’s right. Purdy followed with an 11-yard scramble, then a 6-yard screen pass to Samuel got them to the 1.

As Kyle Shanahan passed Bill Walsh for the most games coached in 49ers’ history, the 167th game of Shanahan’s tenure was, in the end, a victory. It just wasn’t an easy one.

The 49ers have led entering the fourth quarter of every game this season, but Sunday’s was the slimmest margin (10-3).

They didn’t score on their first possession of the game for the first time this season, nor their next two possessions. They pulled even at 3 on a 24-yard field goal from Eddy Piñeiro, but a 54-yard attempt got blocked by Zach Allen entering halftime.

Big plays set up those initial Niners points: an 18-yard sliding catch by Mike Evans onto his sore right ribs; a Purdy scramble to avoid his first sack of the season (vs. Sai’vion Jones); a 10-yard, third-and-1 run by McCaffrey; then a 20-yard, tackle-breaking run by Samuel to the 23-yard line.

Notes

Evans had a team-high five catches for 76 yards and Kittle had four for 70. … Kyle Juszczyk got injured making a 16-yard reception to open the 49ers’ second touchdown drive. He got upended and hit hard on his right knee by Jahdae Barron after Purdy scrambled left, backpedaled and found an open Juszczyk. … Denver was 7 of 12 on third-down conversions before Greenlaw chased and tackled a scrambling Nix into the Broncos’ sideline 2 yards shy of a first down. … The Broncos were without their starting cornerbacks after halftime — Pat Surtain (ankle) and Riley Moss (ribs) — then they saw wide receiver Pat Bryant carted off due to an ankle injury on Ji’Ayir Brown’s midfield tackle late in the third quarter. … The 49ers’ defense played without defensive end Nick Bosa for a second straight game because of a right calf strain.

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