The Sports Xchange
Aug 21, 2016

Backup quarterback Christian Ponder ran and threw for touchdowns in a span of less than four minutes of the fourth quarter on Saturday night as the San Francisco 49ers notched a 31-24 exhibition win over the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field in Denver.

Ponder rushed for a 22-yard score with 10:08 left to snap a 17-17 tie, then found Dres Anderson for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 6:20 remaining that gave San Francisco a 31-17 advantage.

Rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch drew Denver within a score when he hit Durron Neal with a 4-yard scoring strike with 1:55 remaining but was picked off in the last minute on its final drive.

Lynch, who was drafted in the first round by the Broncos, played the second half and completed 15 of 26 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns. He found John Phillips with an 8-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to even the score at 17.

Denver started the scoring on C.J. Anderson's 19-yard run in the first quarter. The 49ers tied it when Eric Reid intercepted Trevor Siemian and returned 42 yards on the second quarter's first play, then grabbed a 14-7 edge on a 4-yard run by Carlos Hyde.

Brandon McManus and Phil Dawson added 40- and 28-yard field goals for the Broncos and San Francisco, respectively, in the last seven minutes of the first half.