Coming off their win over the Jets, the Broncos returned home for an interconference duel against the San Francisco 49ers. The Broncos jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, with quarterback Peyton Manning throwing a pair of touchdown passes &#8212; a 3-yarder to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and a 39-yarder to wide receiver Wes Welker. The 49ers got on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter, with a 22-yard field goal by placekicker Phil Dawson. On the Broncos' next possession, Manning became the NFL's all-time leader in career touchdown passes, with an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. The 49ers responded just before halftime, with a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Colin Kaepernick to wide receiver Steve Johnson, which narrowed the Broncos' lead to 21-10. On the 49ers' first offensive possession of the second half, Kaepernick was intercepted by Broncos' cornerback Aqib Talib. The Broncos subsequently took control of the game with 21 unanswered points, consisting of a 40-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Demaryius Thomas, followed by a pair of rushing touchdown by running back Ronnie Hillman &#8212; a 37-yarder and a 1-yarder. With the Broncos comfortably ahead, Manning sat out the entire fourth quarter, and backup quarterback Brock Osweiler took his place. The 49ers added a late score, with quarterback Blaine Gabbert, playing in place of Kaepernick, throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bruce Ellington. This was the only game during the 2014 season in which the Broncos wore their alternate navy blue uniforms.
How many total points were scored by halftime?
31