49ers vs Broncos Week 3: Can the Niners ‘New’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo Fill in Effectively?

• It is Jimmy G time for the 49ers with veteran QB Jimmy Garoppolo stepping in now
• The Denver Broncos got their first win last week despite the passing offense struggling
• Watch 49ers vs Broncos live on Sunday, September 25, 2022, at 8:20 PM ET on NBC

49ers vs Broncos Odds

Odds taken from BetMGM. Click on the links below to head to the sportsbook and place your bet.

49ers vs Broncos Pick

Expect San Francisco’s number one ranked defense to make Broncos QB Wilson’s night miserable as they cover this narrow spread on national TV.

Forty-Niners -1.5 (-110)

The last game of the NFL’s Week 3 Sunday schedule looks to be a good one, this cross-conference fight between two teams adjusting to their new quarterbacks, the San Francisco 49ers now with Jimmy Garoppolo under center and the Denver Broncos with Russell Wilson.

The San Francisco 49ers’ season began with Trey Lance starting at QB, but in Week 2 he broke his ankle so now it is Jimmy G time with veteran QB Jimmy Garoppolo stepping in and leading the Niners to the first win of the season with the help of Nick Bosa’s number-1 defense.

Last week, the Denver Broncos also got their first win and that’s despite QB Russell Wilson’s (14/31, 219 yds, TD, INT) passing offense struggling, but their second-half rushing attack generated 219 yards on the ground, though that might not work as well against San Francisco.

Here are our best predictions, odds, and picks for this game – good luck and win big! See the best parlays for week 3, here!

San Francisco 49ers vs Denver Broncos Predictions

Can the Niners ‘New’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo Fill in Effectively?

Part of the offseason drama for the San Francisco 49ers this year was about who would be starting under center and what the front office would be doing with Jimmy Garoppolo in the long run, but Trey Lance was named the starter, so Jimmy G was forced to watch from the sidelines.

Then in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, QB Lance broke his ankle during the game ending his season, so Garoppolo stepped in and led the team to their first win of the year by generating respectable numbers (13/21, 154 yds, TD), especially given the situation..

Now the Broncos have had a week to watch old game film of the veteran hurler and they can game plan around his tendencies, Garoppolo’s career completion percentage of 67.6 a sign that he delivers the ball accurately and his 33-14 record as a starter proves he knows how to win.

Can the Broncos Overcome the Injury Bug?

For this Week 3 matchup, the Denver Broncos have nine players listed as questionable and eight others on the IR, too many dinged and missing players to not make a difference here, but how big a difference is a question that the Broncos coaching staff is no doubt asking now.

Some key starters might not see the field on Sunday night due to injury including WRs Jerry Jeudy (ribs), KJ Hamler (knee), and Tim Patrick (knee – ACL), so expect to see more of starters Courland Sutton and Tyrie Cleveland as well as rookies Jalen Virgil and Montrell Washington.

QB Russell Wilson is a veteran and though he is new to Denver’s offensive game plan he has been around long enough to know how to compensate for so many injured playmakers, with one way being to depend more on the run game (below) and another to depend on TE Albert O.

49ers Key Player: (WR) Deebo Samuel

The Forty-Niners are fortunate to have a multi-tooled player in WR Deebo Samuel who can hurt the opposition by catching passes, running the football, and more importantly by earning yards after the catch (YAC) due to his size – 6’ 0” and 215 pounds – quickness, power, and agility.

San Fran HC Kyle Shanahan has figured out how to use Samuel to the team’s full advantage, calling on him multiple times so far this season, now with 7 catches off 13 targets for 58 yards as well as 12 carries for 105 yards and a TD, relatively low production but the season is young.

Watch for Broncos star CB Patrick Surtain (shoulder) to cover him, though right now he is listed as questionable to play on Sunday night, the second year playmaker with four career interceptions and 14 total passes defended on top of 64 tackles with one of those for a loss.

Broncos Key Players: (RBs) Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon

One way Broncos OC Justin Outten is helping out Russell Wilson’s offense is by game planning a two-headed monster out of the backfield starring RBs Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon, both a key part of Denver’s 9th-ranked rushing attack that averages 126 ground yards per game.

Javonte Williams is a North Carolina product who is only in his second pro season, the 22-year-old having impressed the Broncos coaching staff his rookie year by averaging 4.4 yards per carry with 246 touches for 1,219 yards from scrimmage and 7 total TDs, a legit double threat.

The other head of the Broncos’ RB monster is veteran dual-threat Melvin Gordon who is in his eighth NFL season and 3rd team, so far this year averaging 5 yards per touch with 25 touches for 125 yards but no TDs, something that might be tough to make happen against the Niners.

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