SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After two joint practices in which the San Francisco 49ers more than held their own against the Denver Broncos this week, the teams capped it off with Saturday night's preseason contest at Levi's Stadium.
Things didn't go quite so well for the Niners when the lights came on. A series of self-inflicted mistakes led to a 33-14 loss to the Broncos, dropping the Niners to 1-1 in the preseason.
QB depth chart: As expected, Brian Hoyer got the start and was followed by rookie C.J. Beathard and then Matt Barkley. That succession didn't come as fast as coach Kyle Shanahan would have hoped, though. Because of the starting offense's struggles, Beathard didn't get in until there were 44 seconds left in the first half. Hoyer finished 8-of-11 for 89 yards with an interception and a fumble. The interception wasn't completely his fault, but the fumble certainly was. Beathard played into the fourth quarter before ceding the rest of the game to Barkley.
When it was starters vs. starters, the 49ers looked ...: Like they've got a lot of work to do, again. The Niners' starters struggled in Kansas City last week in an extremely limited sample size. This week, their top groups got more work but didn't fare much better. The offense managed to get some first downs, something it didn't do in a short stint last week, but also had three turnovers and didn't put any points on the board in four possessions. Making matters worse, Denver played without seven of its normal defensive starters.
"You have four turnovers in a half and I'd expect it to be worse than it [was]," Shanahan said. "We put our defense in a crappy situation."
Indeed, it wasn't all bad for the starting defense. The touchdown it allowed wasn't really its fault after a botched punt return by the Niners gave Denver the ball at San Francisco's 11. But cornerback Rashard Robinson had a costly pass-interference penalty that set up that score, and he missed a tackle on third down that could have ended a drive for the second week in a row. The Broncos outscored the Niners 13-0 when most of the starters were in the game.
One reason to be concerned: Turnovers. There's not a single word in football that will keep a coach up at night than this one, and they're infuriating, even in the preseason. The 49ers had five on the night, including three that came courtesy of the starting offense. Any chance to get some rhythm and momentum for the top offense went by the wayside with those giveaways. All three came as a simple matter of ball protection, too.
That guy could start: Linebacker Eli Harold. This is an interesting situation that seems to be developing at the Niners' SAM linebacker spot. In practice this week, Harold got a lot of reps with the starting defense in place of Ahmad Brooks. Brooks is a veteran with a lot of experience, so that could be written off as Brooks simply getting some time off. But then Harold started and Brooks played with the backups against the Broncos on Saturday night. Does Harold, who recently returned from a concussion, have a shot to win the starting job there? Is it possible the 49ers might be showcasing him as potential trade bait? Those are questions that will be asked this week.
Rookie watch: Linebacker Reuben Foster did indeed start on the weak side after suffering a minor shoulder sprain earlier in the week. The Niners kept him out of contact drills on Thursday, but Foster played and had a couple of solid moments. He made an impressive tackle on the sideline, showing his closing speed to hold C.J. Anderson to a gain of 4. Tight end George Kittle made his debut after a hamstring injury kept him out against Kansas City. He made a strong first impression with a 29-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown to open the second half and finished with 33 yards on three catches.
Where's the run?: While the turnovers will obviously make Shanahan unhappy, the other thing that had to bug him about the starting offense's lack of production was the absence of a running game. The Niners had 10 carries for 25 yards in the opening two quarters, and Tim Hightower, who played with the first team, coughed up a fumble. Carlos Hyde found some traction late in the first half and finished with eight carries for 26 yards. But Shanahan will undoubtedly want to see more in this regard moving forward.
Reid right at home: There was no better player on the field for the Niners' defense Saturday night than safety Eric Reid. When asked about his role in the team's new defensive scheme, Reid has consistently said he believes it's an ideal fit. It looked like it against the Broncos. Reid was all over the field on the 20 or so snaps he played, finishing with six tackles.
Penalties still a problem: The Niners had 17 penalties last week against the Chiefs and didn't show much improvement in that regard this week. They finished with 11 infractions for 86 yards. As always, the preseason can be heavy on penalties, but the Niners are getting them early and often and continue to have issues with things like illegal formations and shifts, the type of penalties that they can control. That will bother Shanahan almost as much as the giveaways.