Five Key Matchups: Broncos vs. 49ers

The Broncos defense is used to facing tough tight ends as they take on Julius Thomas every day at practice.  But Vernon Davis has caught 15 touchdowns since the start of last season. While Davis missed two games this season with an ankle injury he incurred in Week 2, he is still a threat to the Broncos' defense. After their win against the Jets in Week 6, the Broncos' defense broke into the top ten in multiple defensive categories. But, "hybrid" tight ends, as Jack Del Rio called Davis, have the ability to pick apart defenses."They're bigger than receivers, yet they're still fast," Del Rio said. "And so these tight ends, they are real weapons, is what they are. We have a good one. We go against him in practice every day. They have a good one. We'll definitely be ready to see him."

The Broncos will face the difficult challenge of keeping Colin Kaepernick in the pocket on Sunday. The Broncos have faced multiple dual-threat quarterbacks this season, but Kaepernick is "tough to simulate," according to Von Miller.Kaepernick can be lethal with both his arm and his legs and Miller and the Broncos defense will face the task of mirroring him and containing him."It's tough to make any team one-dimensional," Miller said. "We're going to go out there, we're going to rush the passer, we're going to play the run, play solid coverage and if we can do that, get the ball back for our offense, and if we can do that, I figure we'll be alright."Miller currently holds a four game-streak with at least one sack and leads the Broncos with six.

DeMarcus Ware has faced off against Joe Staley many times throughout his career. While Ware's presence on the field seems to be felt more and more as the season progresses, Staley will work to contain him and protect Kaepernick."Being in the NFC, I had to play against him when I was with the Cowboys," Ware said. "We have a great tackle here in Ryan Clady. He's a guy that's hard to beat. It's always a monster at left tackle that you have to go against and you have to figure out some way to beat him to the quarterback."

In his second week as the Broncos' starting running back, Ronnie Hillman faces another tough task. The 49ers' rush defense, which ranks fifth in the NFL, has done an excellent job of containing top running backs all season. They held Matt Forte to just 21 yards on 12 attempts, the Cardinals to 84 yards on the ground and LeSean McCoy to 17 yards on ten carries. With Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman out, the task of containing Hillman, who hit 100 yards in his first NFL start, will fall on Chris Borland and Michael Wilhoite.

Peyton Manning is just three touchdown passes away from surpassing Brett Favre's all-time record of 508. But it won't an easy task against the 49ers' stingy secondary. The 49ers' sit at No. 2 in passing defense and have many weapons, including Antoine Bethea, who was Manning's teammate in Indianapolis."We saw him in the preseason," John Fox said of Bethea. "Obviously Peyton has a long history with him. He's been a very productive safety in this league and he's doing more of the same now."