The Denver Broncos (2-1) are set to go on the road to face the San Francisco 49ers (3-0) in Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season on Sunday. Here are five quick storylines we'll be following as Denver faces one of the last five remaining undefeated teams in the NFL.
1. Broncos' quest to start how they finish: Denver's offense has scored 10 first-half points through three games this season. They pulled off impressive second-half comebacks in Weeks 2 and 3, but against a team like the 49ers, the Broncos seem unlikely to overcome a large deficit. Sean Payton's squad, particularly quarterback Bo Nix, is still looking for a full-game performance. Going up against one of the NFC's contenders this week, Denver needs to get the early-game woes corrected.
2. Denver's
defense pressuring Brock Purdy: Vance Joseph's defense has totaled eight sacks through three games, which is a fine number, but it's not the record-setting pace the club played at from 2024-2025. The Broncos have totaled the seventh-most sacks in the league, but they haven't faced a team like the Niners yet. Purdy has thrown 83 passes this season and is yet to take a sack, and San Francisco's pass protection is ranked No. 1 in the NFL. Zach Allen can't do it all alone. The Broncos need Nik Bonitto and their edge players to generate pressure this week to disrupt the 49ers' offense.
3. Dre Greenlaw facing his old team: There will be a trio of players on both clubs facing their old team on Sunday. Perhaps most notable among them is linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who signed a big contract with Denver in 2025 but ended up missing about half the season due to injury and a one-game suspension. The Broncos cut Greenlaw this spring to save salary cap space, moving forward with Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad. Greenlaw then returned to the 49ers, and he's fired up to face his old club on Sunday.
4. J.K. Dobbins and the Broncos' rushing attack: J.K. Dobbins (hip) is fully participating at practice, but it seems fair to wonder if the injury has slowed his production this season. The veteran running back is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry after averaging 5.0 YPC in 2025 and 4.6 YPC in 2024. Dobbins does not appear to have the juice that helped him rush for 772 yards through 10 games last fall. As a team, Denver's averaging 3.6 YPC, which ranks 28th in the league. That ineffective run game might partly explain the Broncos' slow starts, and whether it's Dobbins or RJ Harvey, one of the team's running backs needs to provide a spark to help the offense break its early-game slump.
5. Christian McCaffrey's first game against Denver: Remarkably, Christian McCaffrey has faced 31 NFL teams in his career, and the lone exception is his hometown Broncos. CMC had not yet been traded to San Francisco when Denver last faced the 49ers in 2022, and he wasn't healthy when the Broncos played the Carolina Panthers in 2020. Sunday will mark the first time CMC faces the team that his dad, Ed McCaffrey, won two Super Bowls with. He's averaging 4.7 yards per carry this season and remains a dynamic receiving threat out of the backfield, so CMC will be a big challenge for Denver's defense this week.
Sunday's game (2:25 p.m. MT) will be regionally televised on CBS (view the TV broadcast map). The Broncos are considered road underdogs going into the Week 4 matchup.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: 5 storylines to watch for when Broncos face 49ers in Week 4
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