DENVER (AP) – Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes to tie Brett Favre’s career NFL record and the Denver Broncos led the San Francisco 49ers 14-0 after the first quarter Sunday night.
Manning threw a 3-yard scoring strike to Emmanuel Sanders and added a 39-yarder to Wes Welker to match Farve at 508.
It didn’t take long for Manning to settle into a rhythm in this game. The five-time NFL MVP was 7 for 7 for 111 yards in his first two scoring drives.
Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers went three-and-out to open the game. But the offense found some moment on their next possession, driving to the Broncos 33 before stalling out. Phil Dawson attempted a 51-yard field goal, only to have it sail wide left. Dawson entered the game 4 of 4 from 50 or more yards.
Denver tweaked its offensive line for this game, inserting Paul Cornick at right tackle for Chris Clark. Cornick was whistled for a false start penalty early in the game. He nearly got beat by Aaron Lynch on Manning’s first TD toss, but held his block just long enough for Manning to deliver a strike to Sanders.