Broncos vs. 49ers: Top Week 14 storylines for San Francisco
By Peter Panacy
No. 4: How 49ers Secondary Handles Denver’s Pass Catchers
Few teams have dealt with as many serious injuries as San Francisco this season. And while that’s not the entire excuse for the subpar year, it helps explain a lot.
San Francisco 49ers
Likewise, however, the Broncos are also dealing with some serious injuries, namely on offense, where the team already lost tight end Jeff Heuerman to a ribs injury. And most recently, standout wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders suffered a torn Achilles this week in practice and will miss the rest of the season.
Brutal for Denver’s playoff hopes. Perhaps a plus for the Niners defense.
The Broncos enter this contest with 2,798 pass yards on the year, which is good for 23rd in the league. While quarterback Case Keenum hasn’t come close to replicating the kind of efforts he enjoyed with the Minnesota Vikings last year, he’s far superior to anything Denver has had under center for some time.
And with San Francisco’s notable lack of an outside pass rush, Keenum finding time for passes intended for other, less-known targets may not be too big an issue.
The 49ers secondary, also banged up by injuries, can take some comfort knowing there’s not a bona fide No. 1 receiving weapon currently in the Broncos’ arsenal.
Exactly how the defensive backfield handles this will be a major measuring stick on how things need to be handled with this group this offseason.