The talk of town was the performance of Paxton Lynch compared to Trevor Siemian, but the real deciding factor in the Denver Broncos’ 33-14 victory over the San Francisco 49ers was the five turnovers Denver forced in the game.

The Broncos made the most of those turnovers, putting up points after each 49ers miscue.

Led by Lynch, the Broncos were forced to punt on the first possession of the game but immediately got the ball back deep in 49ers territory when Jaquiski Tartt allowed the ball to hit off his leg. Safety Will Parks recovered the ball at the San Francisco 11-yard line to give Lynch and the offense a second chance. After a defensive pass interference call in the end zone, C.J. Anderson found the end zone on his third try from the goal line to give Denver an early lead.

The Broncos went three-and-out on their next drive, but the 49ers would again turn over the ball on their second possession after their own three-and-out.

Shelby Harris recovered a Brian Hoyer fumble when the quarterback lost his grip on a forward pass, giving Denver its second turnover of the night. The offense traveled 26 yards downfield to put Brandon McManus within range for a 45-yard field goal.

The Broncos again got the best of Hoyer on the 49ers’ ensuing drive when Chris Lewis-Harris snatched the ball out of the hands of Jeremy Kerley, doing a barrel roll over the wide receiver as he tackled him and coming out the other side with the ball. Penalties backed up the Broncos on two occasions after taking over at the San Francisco 44-yard line, but Paxton Lynch scrambled for a first down to get back into McManus range. A sack for seven yards on third down moved McManus back, but he still nailed a 51-yard attempt to push Denver’s lead to 13-0.

The 49ers moved the ball across the 50, but Dymonte Thomas pried the ball loose from Tim Hightower on a first-down carry and the Broncos had their fourth turnover of the half. In his first drive in relief of Lynch, Siemian found Jordan Taylor down the right sideline for a 19-yard touchdown pass and a 20-0 halftime lead.

San Francisco responded with a touchdown drive to open the half, going 72 yards in just three plays. C.J. Beathard found George Kittle for a 29-yard catch and run to put the 49ers on the board.

Siemian responded with a 12-play drive that traveled 46 yards – enough for another McManus field goal.

The teams traded punts for the next five possessions before Denver once again put themselves in field-goal range, this time led by Kyle Sloter.

On the next possession, Shelby Harris picked up his second fumble recovery of the game thanks to a botched handoff from Matt Barkley to Joe Williams. Two plays later, Juwan Thompson was running into the end zone after a 20-yard run to cap Denver’s scoring.

Denver would surrender a kickoff return for touchdown on the ensuing kick, then milk the remaining 7:04 on the clock to end the game with their final possession.

The final turnover tally was 5-0 in favor of Denver.