After a bad Week 1 loss (albeit in a monsoon) to the Chicago Bears, the San Francisco 49ers seemed to right the ship in Week 2. Trey Lance went down with an ankle injury, Jimmy Garoppolo stepped in, and the team got the win against the Seattle Seahawks. In Week 3, the 49ers came in as favorites against the struggling Denver Broncos. However, after an ugly, punt-filled game, the team limped out of Denver with a loss. The 49ers-Broncos game might have been hard to watch, but it also told us a lot about where the NFC West team is at a few games into the 2022 NFL season. Here are three 49ers Week 3 takeaways from their Sunday Night Football loss to the Broncos.

3. Running back depth is a problem

When Kyle Shanahan’s offense is at its best, it is a run-based system. As Cris Collinsworth explained on the broadcast, the outside zone run is the key to Shanahan’s offensive system, and everything else flows from that.

To have a run-based team in the modern NFL, teams need running backs. That’s a problem right now for the 49ers in Week 3.

In training camp, the 49ers actually had a solid stable of runners on the roster. As the team headed toward the last preseason cut-down day, Elijah Mitchell, Jeff Wilson Jr., Trey Sermon, Tyrion Davis-Price, and Jordan Mason were all in play to make the team.

The 49ers surprisingly released Sermon (and the Eagles quickly scooped him up), Elijah Mitchell (again) got injured, spraining his MCL in Week 1, and rookie Davis-Price suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2.

These injuries led to Wilson and Mason being the only healthy halfbacks for the Niners in Week 3.

Wilson played 73% of the offensive snaps and ran 12 times for 75 yards while catching three balls for 31 yards. Mason, an undrafted rookie, was only in on 9% of the offensive plays and had one carry for seven yards. Wilson's huge minutes may have led to his end-of-game fumble as well.

Both Mitchell and Davis-Price are likely out for a few weeks. Shanahan either needs to trust Mason more to give Wilson a break or find another solution on the practice squad or the free-agent market. Otherwise, it could be a long few weeks for the 49ers' running game.

2. The offensive line is the key to the 49ers' success

Whether the 49ers want to run or pass, the offensive line is the key to it all. The entire offense is predicated on the running game (see above), and the team needs to do its best to compensate for a mediocre quarterback (see below). This all means that the offensive line needs to be on point.

In the 49ers Week 3 primetime matchup, the line looked good for a time and, in turn, so did the offense overall. There were still issues, but comparing the 49ers and Broncos offenses, the NFC team’s looked much better in the first half.

Then, All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams went down with an injury.

Kyle Shanahan tried to replace Williams with Jaylon Moore, and the Broncos’ Randy Gregory made quick work of him, sacking Jimmy Garoppolo immediately after his entrance to the game. The team then slid Mike McGlinchy over to the left side, and that was better, but it still hurt the line as a whole.

The big 49ers Week 3 takeaways from this game are that the O-line is even more important to the Niners than it is for most teams, and William’s absence (for a few weeks due to a high ankle sprain) is going to be a massive problem.

1. Jimmy Garoppolo is better than Trey Lance, but not by much

When Trey Lance went out for the season, many pundits pointed out that while that might be bad for the 49ers' long-term future, it probably meant winning more games this season with Jimmy Garoppolo at the wheel.

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What Sunday night’s 49ers-Broncos game showed is that Jimmy G is better than Lance, but he’s not an elite NFL QB by any means.

Garoppolo was 18-of-29 for 211 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the 49ers Week 3 loss. He wasn’t terrible, but he also wasn’t great. He had two chances to lead a game-winning drive in the fourth quarte4r and choked on both. Sure, the offensive line and RBs weren’t doing him any favors at that point, but there were plays to be made.

This is who Jimmy G is. If the defense, running game, offensive line, and outside weapons are all healthy and firing on all cylinders, he’s good enough to get you to an NFC Championship Game and maybe even further under the right circumstances.

However, if the team has other issues and isn’t crushing it elsewhere on the field, Garopplos is not a QB who can take the team on his back and carry them to a win.

After some San Francisco fans' excitement that Jimmy G was finally back, this should be the most sobering of the 49ers Week 3 takeaways.