Defensively, the Broncos poured it on, taking the ball away four times, and sacking the quarterbacks twice. Depth standouts included safety JL Skinner (forced fumble) and cornerbacks Kris Abrams-Draine and Jaden Robinson, as well as rookie defensive lineman Sai'vion Jones, who recovered a fumble.

The stars looked the part, with Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle making plays for the Niners, and Nix making some nice throws on the move. The 49ers didn’t mess with Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, too much in one-on-one coverage after he shut down Ricky Pearsall early.

Kyle Shanahan has admired Bo Nix for a long time. Nothing changed with his opinion Thursday. After San Francisco and Denver took part in a joint practice at the 49ers’ facility, their head coach lauded the Broncos’ second-year quarterback from Oregon.