The defending AFC champs head west to face a 49ers team that just made its franchise quarterback rich — and both sides are carrying real question marks out of training camp.
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SUN OCT 4 · 1:25 PM PT
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Broncos
49ers
Best Bet49ers -135
San Francisco's money line is short, but Purdy's now got a $265 million extension and a stable QB room while Denver is nursing a center depth crisis that isn't going away by kickoff. The Niners' camp injuries are mostly soft-tissue stuff with time to heal before October; Denver's O-line problem is a season-ending one. Lean the home side here even at the shorter price.
Broncos
+Reigning AFC champs, 14-3 finish to 2025
+Payton kept the core intact, added Waddle via trade
+Nix playing for a $100M+ extension, motivated year
−Starting center out for the season (quad)
−Backup centers also banged up in camp
−Win total dropped from 14 wins to 9.5
49ers
+Purdy signed to $265M extension, offense stabilized
+Deebo reportedly back to full strength
+Bosa optimistic about being ready for the season
−Pearsall done for the year, WR room thin
−Kirk, Evans, Stribling all missed the preseason opener
−Shanahan still recovering from a serious car accident
Bo Nix sat out Denver's preseason opener in Atlanta, but that's the plan under Sean Payton, who's letting his quarterback play his way into a contract-defining season rather than risk him in an exhibition. Brock Purdy didn't play in San Francisco's preseason opener against Tennessee either, only he's already got his money — a 5-year, $265 million extension with $181 million guaranteed, locked in this offseason. Different situations, same idea: neither team is touching its starter until it counts.
The bigger question in San Francisco isn't Purdy, it's who's healthy around him. Ricky Pearsall is done for the year after PCL surgery, and Christian Kirk, Mike Evans and rookie De'Zhaun Stribling all sat out that preseason opener with soft-tissue issues. Deebo Samuel is reportedly back to looking like himself, which helps, but Kyle Shanahan is also still working back from a serious car accident in July and hasn't been full-go at camp. Denver has its own front-office headache: starting center Michael Deiter is out for the season, and the two guys behind him on the depth chart have each battled their own ailments this camp.
None of that is settled two months out — both teams still have a full preseason and a handful of regular-season games to play before this one. But it frames how each front office spent its offseason, and where the real pressure sits heading into the fall.
Denver Broncos
San Francisco 49ers
Denver closed out last season at 14-3 with a trip to the AFC Championship Game, the kind of run that had Payton openly talking Super Bowl before this year even started. San Francisco's 2025 finished on a rockier note — a 3-13 home loss and a 6-41 blowout in Seattle bookending an otherwise solid stretch. Both teams reset accordingly: Denver leaned into continuity, re-signing its core and trading for receiver Jaylen Waddle rather than tearing anything down, while San Francisco bet its offseason on Purdy staying the centerpiece for years to come.
Denver Broncos
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
San Francisco 49ers
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Whatever these rosters look like by kickoff, this one's shaping up as a measuring-stick game for two teams that both think they're contenders. Denver's proving it can steady a suddenly shaky offensive line; San Francisco's proving its receiver room survives training camp intact. Levi's Stadium in early October should have some answers on both counts.
