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When Philip Rivers made a shocking return to the Colts after nearly five years in retirement, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan knew the 44-year-old would give his team all it could handle.
Shanahan wasn’t wrong, but he had every reason to believe a surging 49ers offense could thwart Rivers’ bid to come off the couch and guide the Colts to the playoffs.
It helps when you have Brock Purdy.
The 49ers’ 25-year-old quarterback tossed a career-high five touchdown passes, threw for 295 yards, and never let up in a 48-27 win against a future Hall of Fame signal-caller who more than held his own in his second start since signing with Indianapolis.
Purdy had plenty of help, too, as Christian McCaffrey topped 100 rushing yards for the third time this season and tight end George Kittle crossed the 100-yard receiving threshold for the first time this year and the 22nd time in his career. Jauan Jennings and Demarcus Robinson also hauled in touchdowns, and the offensive line kept the pocket relatively clean as Purdy took just one sack.
A year after finishing 6-11 and in last place in the NFC West, the 49ers clinched a playoff berth on Sunday afternoon when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Detroit Lions. Following the Seahawks’ dramatic overtime win over the Rams on Thursday night, San Francisco entered Monday’s game in Indianapolis needing three more wins to secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Since Purdy’s return from a toe injury that sidelined him for eight of the first 11 games, the 49ers are 5-0 and have won all five games by a double-digit margin. The path to the No. 1 seed remains very much alive, and despite some concerns on defense, all of San Francisco’s goals are still on the table.
Robert Saleh’s unit picked up two sacks on Monday against Rivers as rookies CJ West and Alfred Collins each registered the first of their careers, but a leaky secondary gave the Colts hope through the first three quarters.
Indianapolis was without two starting cornerbacks, including midseason trade acquisition and two-time All-Pro Sauce Gardner, so it should come as no surprise that Purdy was able to dice up Indianapolis’ secondary. The 49ers were without second-year starter Renardo Green, but no one realistically anticipated Rivers to carve up San Francisco’s defense.
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It happened anyway as the 44-year-old father of 10 exposed the 49ers’ greatest weakness by hanging in the pocket, converting on short-to-intermediate throws, and lofting the ball up for Alec Pierce, who snagged two first-half touchdown receptions.
The Colts immediately unveiled a fascinating offensive strategy, racing to the line of scrimmage to give Rivers as much time as possible to analyze the defense’s pre-snap alignment. The quarterback sometimes spent half the play clock calling out checks and adjustments, providing him with a mental edge over a unit that struggled to generate pressure.
The 49ers’ only way to stop Rivers and the Colts was taking the ball out of their hands, and one of the best special teams units in the NFL did that when safety Ji’Ayir Brown stripped Ameer Abdullah on a kick return after the 49ers tied the game 7-7. The extra possession proved pivotal, as Purdy hit Christian McCaffrey for a two-yard touchdown and the 49ers ultimately ended the first half with a seven-point lead.
It could have been an even bigger edge, but the second quarter clock hit zero on Eddy Piñeiro’s first missed field goal of the season. The veteran kicker, whose career long is 59 yards, watched his 64-yard attempt clank off the crossbar and roll back onto the field.
The miss didn’t deter the 49ers, who spent the second half racing away from Rivers and the Colts. When Purdy threw an interception that sailed through the hands of receiver Kendrick Bourne to give Indianapolis a glimmer of hope at a late comeback, 49ers linebacker Dee Winters responded with a game-sealing pick-six.
A putrid 49ers’ defensive start
Rivers hardly threw downfield in his first game back against the Seahawks. He completed only 10 passes that traveled more than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, the longest of which traveled 16 air yards. So maybe it shouldn’t have been surprising that the 49ers’ defense seemed woefully underprepared for the Indianapolis aerial assault that opened this game.
That didn’t make it any more excusable; there’s no way that a 44-year-old quarterback with an obvious lack of arm strength should repeatedly carve up any professional defense — especially on multiple third-and-long opportunities. But that’s exactly what Rivers did, repeatedly striking downfield while the 49ers — very curiously — were devoid of safety help.
It was ugly, embarrassing football from Saleh’s crew. Rivers looked like a beer league, slow-pitch softball pitcher making major league hitters whiff.
The great Purdy bailout
Thankfully for the 49ers, Purdy is the chosen one. Shanahan’s offense hasn’t punted this month — and it’s almost Christmas. Purdy shredded the Colts’ defense, missing Gardner and the other starting corner, Charvarius Ward, with even more ease than Rivers’ operation.
There were laser-precision throws outside the numbers. There were spectacular passes on the run, including a cross-body touchdown to Kittle (who hurt his ankle later in the game; status forthcoming). There was a key third-down scramble.
In short, Purdy did absolutely everything on a night that — once officially tallied — should vault him to the No. 1 spot of essentially every quarterback efficiency statistic. And that’s even counting the late interception that bounced off Bourne’s hands and into the arms of Colts safety Camryn Bynum.
Purdy is the real deal, and he is the main reason the 49ers have realistic Super Bowl aspirations despite their very sketchy defense. But the fact that Purdy and the offense had to walk a fourth-quarter tightrope even after putting up 34 points over the first three quarters is insane.
Purdy is superb, but the 49ers’ defense must be better so that historic offensive potential doesn’t go to waste.
The third phase tilts everything in the 49ers’ favor
With both defenses seemingly having forgotten to get off the bus early in this game, another boost from the 49ers’ special teams unit proved to be instrumental in tilting the scales toward San Francisco.
Brown’s strip of Abdullah set up a Jake Tonges recovery, a short field for the 49ers’ offense, and extra rest for the defense. Thanks to special teams, the 49ers never trailed again after their defense gave up an opening-drive touchdown.
This was not a dynamic that the 49ers enjoyed in 2024, when their special teams ranked No. 32 — dead last — in the NFL. But under new coordinator Brant Boyer, they’re in a race with the Seahawks for the No. 1 spot here in 2025.
Fittingly, the 49ers will finish this frenetic regular season against Seattle on Jan. 4. That’ll be a fascinating convergence of the NFL’s two best special teams units. But first, the 49ers will host the fellow 11-4 Chicago Bears.