The San Franscico 49ers travelled to London and found themselves in a dog-fight with the Denver Broncos this morning. In a back and forth game, Michael Crabtree caught the go ahead strike, a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Troy Smith, to put the 49ers up 17-10. Frank Gore tacked on another touchdown after the San Fransisco defense stripped Denver quarterback Kyle Orton on a scramble. That insurance was needed after Orton hit Brandon Lloyd for a score on the next possession. The Broncos missed the extra point.
The Broncos forced the 49ers to punt on the next possession, with under two minutes to go, but an Eddie Royal punt return for a touchdown was called back after a penalty. The 78-yard return had the chance to tie the game, but the Broncos instead were backed up to the 19-yard line. Denver put a drive together, but San Fransisco intercepted an Orton pass with under a minute to go to seal the game, leaving us with a 24-16 final.
Smith, filling in for the injured Alex Smith, threw for 196 yards and a touchdown. Frank Gore carried the ball 29 times for 118 yards and a touchdown. Delanie Walker caught five passes for 85 yards and Crabtree added three catches for 53 yards and one touchdown.
Orton put up plenty of yards, passing for 369 yards one touchdown and an interception. Knowshon Moreno carried the ball 11 times for 40 yards. Brandon Lloyd led all receivers with 169 yards and a touchdown. Tim Tebow found the end zone on a quarterback dive from the one, stealing a touchdown after Lloyd was stopped at the one yard line.
The Broncos fall to 2-6 on the year while the 49ers improve to 2-6, still failing to meet preseason expectations. Both teams are on a bye next week.