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The second-ranked AFC West team hosts the second-ranked NFC West team. Denver has a 4-1 record, and is one game behind the 5-2 Chargers. San Francisco has a 4-2 record, and are pushing the division-leading 5-1 Cardinals.
BRONCOS
Peyton Manning enters the game with 506 career touchdown passes, and only needs three more to surpass the long-standing NFL record of 508 by Brett Favre. To get there, Peyton certainly has plenty of options at his disposal: Demaryius Thomas (ranked 8th) and Emmanuel Sanders (ranked 10th) are both top-ten NFL ranked wide receivers in receiving yardage, while tight end Julius Thomas leads the entire league (all positions) with 9 touchdowns.
The Denver defense has two impressive pass rushers: Von Miller, who is tied with Connor Barwin for 3rd in the NFL with 6 sacks; and DeMarcus Ware, who is tied with J.J. Watt with 4 sacks on the season. Together they combine for 10 of the 15 recorded team sacks for the Broncos. Their defense is only allowing an average of 76.8 yards rushing and 241 yards passing so far this season.
49ers
The San Francisco defense is second only to Detroit in the NFL in total yards allowed per game, and is only allowing an average of 79.8 yards rushing, and 207 yards passing for a total average of 287 yards per game. Cornerback Perrish Cox is tied in leading the NFL with 3 interceptions on the season, while linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Justin Smith both have 3 sacks each heading into this game.
The offense will be looking for running back Frank Gore to lead the way against Denver, as he is ranked 7th in the NFL in rushing yards, with 403 on the season at a 67.2 yards per game average. An interesting side note for Texans' fans is that Arian Foster is ranked 3rd overall in total rushing yards with 513, and an impressive 102.6 per game average, and that's while missing an entire game! The NFL's leading rusher is DeMarco Murray with a ridiculous 785 yards and a 130.8 yards per game average.
I can hear the music starting, so I'll toss the mic to Carrie Underwood to get this thing going. It should be a great game, so pull up a seat with your favorite cold beverage. Just be sure to save some of that for tomorrow night's Texans game on Monday Night Football. The usual rules apply, and the floor is yours.