49ers must send Talanoa Hufanga a thank-you card for helping Broncos beat Rams

The San Francisco 49ers should be feeling pretty good about where they're at after three weeks into the season.

At a perfect 3-0, with two victories over NFC West rivals already, head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad sits alone atop the division. Beating the Arizona Cardinals in an injury-plagued showdown certainly helped matters, yes. But the Niners also got some help in Week 3, too.

Not only did the Washington Commanders upend the previously undefeated Seattle Seahawks, but the Denver Broncos thwarted the Los Angeles Rams, sending L.A. to a 1-2 record and a third-place spot within the division.

A big reason why was an old friend to San Francisco, safety Talanoa Hufanga.

Talanoa Hufanga's 2 interceptions seal Broncos' Sunday night win over Rams

Granted, Hufanga and the Broncos will be the 49ers' enemy in a week's time when the two teams play each other. But that's a problem for Week 4.

In the interim, Denver is a friend for beating Los Angeles 30-26 on Sunday Night Football.

As for Hufanga? Well, he had a game and then some.

The former Niners safety, who quickly became a fan-favorite and was on the winning end of one of the Niners' biggest plays in recent playoff history, ensured quarterback Matthew Stafford and Co. would head below the .500 point after Sunday night.

All the veteran defensive back had to two was notch two interceptions, including a pick-six before a game-sealing pick with the Rams threating to win the game with two seconds remaining:

Oh, and he also had three passes broken up, a sack and five tackles.

Not bad, Huf. Not bad at all.

Indeed, the back-and-forth showdown had plenty of other heroes from both sides. But this was easily a Huf-called game, and one can pretty much conclude it would've been a vastly different outcome if he didn't rise to such a level.

Of course, it'd also be kind of nice if he still recalls the fierce San Francisco-Los Angeles rivalry, reminscing about his days with his former employer before heading to Denver.

Too bad he'll forget about all of that in a week's time, but for now, at least the 49ers can be awfully thankful that Hufanga played a massive role in shutting down a division rival in the most dramatic of fashions.

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