Finally, a happy fourth for 49ers in 20-14 win

SANTA CLARA - They didn’t finish strong, but they finished.

After leading 20-0 at halftime, the 49ers held on to beat the Denver Broncos 20-14 Sunday afternoon at Levi’s Stadium. The win wasn’t pretty, but it was impressive.

The 49ers had nothing to play for. They’re eliminated from the playoffs, their record is 3-10 and they’ve blown four fourth-quarter leads this season. But they didn’t blow this one. They played hard for head coach Kyle Shanahan and did just enough during the first half to win.

The Broncos had everything to play for. They’re in playoff contention, their record is 6-7 and, coming into Sunday’s game, they were merely one game behind the Baltimore Ravens for an AFC Wild Card spot and had won three games in a row.

But the 49ers still dismissed the Broncos.

Statement game?

“Yeah, why not?” quarterback Nick Mullens said during his postgame press conference. “We’re excited to take them out of the playoff hunt. They were in it. They were on a pretty hot streak. It feels so good to win.”

Mullens won his second start of the season. He completed 20 of 33 pass attempts (61 percent), threw for 332 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and his quarterback rating was a stellar 102.1. Through five starts, his rating is 93.5. Not bad, considering Jimmy Garoppolo’s rating with the 49ers is 94.1.

“Mullens played well,” Shanahan said. “He did some real good things and was one of the reasons we won.”

Another reason was tight end George Kittle.

He caught seven passes for 210 yards - four shy of the NFL’s all-time single-game record by a tight end. Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe gained 214 receiving yards on Oct. 20, 2002.

Kittle also broke the 49ers franchise record for receiving yards in a season. Vernon Davis set that record in 2009 when he gained 965 yards through the air. This season, Kittle has gained 1,103 receiving yards with three games remaining. He’s on pace to gain 1,358 receiving yards.

“The thing (Kittle) is doing better than any tight end I’ve ever had is what he’s doing after the catch,” Shanahan said. “He does a good job beating man coverage and does a good job in his routes and does a great job blocking. But, when that ball is in the air, the play is just starting. He’s trying to catch it and he runs angry and he runs confidently that he expects to score on every look.”

Here’s what Shanahan was talking about:

During the 49ers’ opening drive, Kittle caught a 22-yard pass and ran for 14 more yards. Later during the second quarter, Kittle caught a 15-yard pass and then sprinted 70 yards down the middle of the field for a touchdown.

“It’s really fun when you catch the ball and there’s nothing but green grass in front of you,” Kittle explained. “It’s really fun because you just get to run.”

By halftime, Kittle had run quite far. He had gained 210 receiving yards, and the 49ers lead 20-0. But, Kittle caught zero passes in the second half, and the 49ers offense scored zero points.

“Couldn’t get our run game going,” Shanahan said. “(The Broncos) have good edge players and very big, stout inside players. Couldn’t create enough space. When you don’t run the ball very well and you do bad on third down, which we really struggled on third down in the second half, you’re not going to stay out there long.”

The 49ers held the ball for just 12:42 during the second half and gained 79 net yards. The offense turtled up, receded into its shell. Needed the defense to step up.

It did.

After allowing 163 rushing yards last week to the Seattle Seahawks and playing “lackadaisical” run defense, according to defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, the 49ers played great run defense against Denver. They limited Broncos starting running back Phillip Lindsay to 30 yards on 14 carries - 2.1 yards per attempt. He came into the game averaging an NFL-best 6.1 yards per carry.

“After last week, we put a big emphasis on stopping the run and setting the edge,” Buckner said. “We did that today and were happy to have this opportunity, especially against a good run team like Denver.”

The 49ers defense seemed to tire as the second half progressed, because the offense couldn’t stay on field. The 49ers gave up 14 points after halftime, including a 1-yard touchdown catch by receiver DaeSean Hamilton with 3:57 left.

The game was slipping away from the 49ers. They needed their offense to step up and do something in the second half.

It did.

Specifically, Mullens did something. On third and seven from the 49ers’ 23-yard line, Mullens threw a 31-yard pass to wide receiver Dante Pettis.

“We were very fortunate because it wasn’t a look I liked or wanted and I called timeout,” Shanahan admitted. “Fortunately, the ref didn’t hear me. I started to get very worked up about that. But it was a helluva job of him not hearing me. It worked out well.”

Give that ref a game ball.

Three plays later, on third and three from the Broncos 39-yard line, Mullens completed a 6-yard pass over the middle to slot receiver Trent Taylor, using up most of the clock. And that was the game.

“We finished,” Mullens said, his face beaming. “I’m really proud.”