The San Francisco 49ers have defeated the Denver Broncos in Monday Night Football preseason clash. The guests from California were better with 24-15, for their second straight victory. This was a match in which the fans had a chance to see two big names, Jimmy Garoppolo and Emmanuel Sanders, coming back on the field after quite some time.
What was more important for the 49ers than the win in this match, was Jimmy Garoppolo’s comeback. The prolific QB made his return after a vicious knee injury which set him apart from the game for almost the entire year.
Though, his performance wasn’t that great, as he completed just one pass in six attempts for zero yards. Jimmy G wasn’t worried too much, as he expects to get better and better with the games coming on.
“It’s something I haven’t done in a year obviously, so I’ve got to knock the rust off,” Garoppolo said. “Thankfully we have a short week this week so we can bounce back quickly. First step of getting back into it.”
He also stated that the knee was just fine, and that it didn’t bother him at all.
On the other side, Emmanuel Sanders was crying before the game started. The 32-year old wide receiver though about his torn Achilles, and the comeback on the field made him emotional. Unlike Garoppolo, Sanders had a solid contribution.
Joe Flacco found Sanders on Denver’s first play, and the fans at Mile High went wild. He would later catch a 45-yard pass which didn’t count because of a penalty one of his teammates made. But that didn’t spoil his comeback.
Sanders also had one 19-yard reverse, which should have been a touchdown according to his standards.
“The old `E’ would have scored,”
Sanders said.
While mentioning Joe Flacco, he made his first appearance in front of the new crowd. The Super Bowl XLVII champion was traded to Denver in the middle of February and now tries to establish himself as a leader in the new environment.
He was impressed with the way the crowd follows the offensive plays of the team, saying that he never witnessed such silence when having the possession.
“One thing I really noticed: you could tell Peyton played here because when the offense has the ball, man, you could hear a pin drop. That was a little different, to be honest with you.”
Flacco finished the match with 59 yards, having 7 completions in 11 attempts. His replacement Drew Lock got hurt, and the no.3 QB Kevin Hogan seized the chance to make some impressions. He was sacked a couple of times, and had an interception, but scored one TD. It was after a 19-yard rush.
On the other side, Nick Mullens had two passes in three attempts for 27 yards, with one of them being a touchdown.
The 49ers will head for Kansas City to meet the Chiefs on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Rams are hosting the Broncos on the same night.
