Can the 49ers wear down the Broncos in 90-degree weather?
· Yahoo Sports
The San Francisco 49ers begin the first tough stretch of the 2026 season on Sunday, hosting the Denver Broncos.
Visit extonnews.click for more information.
Sean Payton and the Broncos enter Santa Clara after some earning brownie points with the 49ers for their Sunday night win over the Los Angeles Rams. That result, combined with San Francisco’s Week 3 win against the Arizona Cardinals, put San Francisco two games up on the Rams with the tiebreaker currently in hand.
But it’s a little too early to watch the standings; for now, collecting wins is the priority, and Denver will offer the 49ers their toughest test with the best defense the San Francisco offense has faced so far.
So let’s start there, looking at how the 49ers can take advantage of the Denver defense with this week’s numbers to know:
380.7
Yards. The Broncos defense has allowed 380.7 yards per game this season, the fourth-most allowed in the league.
Denver’s defense will be the toughest test of the season (until Seattle next week) for the upstart San Francisco offense. But the Broncos haven’t quite found their stride yet, though they showed signs on Sunday night in the second half in their win over the Rams.
The Broncos finished only behind Houston in yards per game allowed (278.2) and Houston and Seattle in points per game allowed (18.3) in 2025. That hasn’t been the case through Denver’s first three games: they’ve allowed the fourth-most yards, but they’ve done much better at keeping opponents out of the end zone, allowing 23.3 points per game, right smack in the middle of the league.
It’s a defense that bends but doesn’t break. The 34.6 yards per drive Denver allows is the ninth-most allowed in the league, but once opposing offenses get into the red zone, it’s less than a coin-flip chance a touchdown is scored. The Broncos have allowed only five touchdowns on 11 red-zone entries, a 45.5 percent touchdown rate. As a result, Denver allows only 2.12 points per drive, again finding itself in the middle of the league despite the yards allowed.
The 49ers haven’t had issues gaining yards (fifth at 399.3 yards per game) or scoring in the red zone (first at a 90 percent touchdown rate). Sunday could come down to whether the San Francisco offense can figure out Denver’s top-ten red zone defense.
33.1
Percent. Denver’s defense blitzes on 33.1 percent of dropbacks.
The 49ers offensive line has been perfect through three games. Zero sacks, only four negative plays allowed- you know all the stats. But they haven’t faced an attack yet like they’ll face against Denver on Sunday.
Vance Joseph’s defense will be the first team the 49ers offensive line has faced in the top half of the league in blitz percentage, with the ninth-highest rate in the league at 33.1, according to Pro Football Reference. So far, the 49ers have faced:
- Los Angeles: 22.9 percent (19th in blitz rate)
- Miami: 19.8 percent (24th)
- Arizona: 18.9 percent (27th)
But that blitz rate hasn’t equated to pressures for the Broncos. Denver ranks 19th in pressure rate, getting after the quarterback 22.6 percent of the time. Those pressures have resulted in eight sacks, tied for seventh-most in the league, led by Zach Allen with three.
Brock Purdy has been kept clean this season, but Denver’s front will be a litmus test for where the 49ers offensive line actually is. Purdy’s elusiveness and mobility, and how frequently he can extend plays with his legs before the Denver pass rush gets to him, will be a factor.
91
Degrees. It will be around 91 degrees in Santa Clara at kickoff.
And that’s 91 degrees at kickoff. It’s expected to reach 93 degrees at Levi’s Stadium. It’s going to be miserable. It’s going to be draining. It’s going to suck. Plus, both teams are coming off games where they were on the field for 80+ plays a week ago. There could be some tired legs out there.
When the calendar turns from September to October, the second summer starts in California. In recent years, the beginning of fall has signified some of the hottest weather of the year, and this year seems to be no different.
The thing is, it’s not something that will benefit either side; it will be just as bad for both teams. A war of attrition would be the best way to describe it. And it’s not a game situation the 49ers are used to. According to Pro Football Reference, the 49ers have played in only one game with temperatures higher than 90 degrees, and that was back in 2019 when the 49ers defense intercepted Jameis Winston three times en route to a Week 1 victory in Tampa Bay.
The Broncos, however, have played in high temperatures much more recently than the 49ers, and it might be a good sign for San Francisco. It was 91 degrees on a Monday night in Kansas City a few weeks ago, when the Denver defense allowed a season-high 31 points in the Broncos’ only loss of the season.
It’s going to be a hot one in Santa Clara. I, for one, will keep those sitting on that side of Levi’s Stadium in mind while I am sitting in my air-conditioned Sacramento apartment.
If you think the weather will play a factor, scroll down and let us know in the comments.