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The San Francisco 49ers spoiled 44-year-old Philip Rivers’ home return for the Indianapolis Colts, as quarterback Brock Purdy threw five touchdowns in the 48-27 victory on the road Monday night.
San Francisco knows that if they win their remaining two games, they would be the No. 1 seed in the NFC heading into the playoffs, and its mission accomplished as they move to 11-4.
Meanwhile, the Colts, after starting the year 8-2, remain on their losing streak despite solid play from Rivers except for a crucial moment in the game.
The Colts found themselves down 41-27 with the 49ers already in field goal range when one of the few errant passes from Purdy went through Kendrick Bourne’s hands and was intercepted.
It could’ve been a turning point in the game, especially when Rivers found Alec Pierce, who had a monster game with two touchdowns in the first half, for a 33-yard gain to flip the field. But on the next play, Dee Winters jumped a Rivers pass intended for Ty Warren and took it 74 yards to the house — a game-sealing pick-six.
Though they still have the slimmest of playoff hopes, the Colts’ loss means the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers all clinched playoff spots in the AFC.
PHILIP RIVERS DELIVERS VINTAGE FIRST HALF PERFORMANCE FOR COLTS, DELIGHTING NFL FANS
Rivers was locked in from the start of the game, as head coach Shane Steichen was dialing up lots of passes instead of letting Jonathan Taylor do the work at running back for the Colts’ offense.
To open the game, Rivers threw the ball seven times on nine plays, and his best was a 20-yard strike to Pierce to take a quick 7-0 lead. It was a free play for Rivers with a 49ers defender jumping offside, and he didn’t disappoint as he allowed his receiver to high-point the ball for the score.
But, while Rivers was having a fantastic first half, Purdy and the 49ers’ offense were matching everything and then some.
The 49ers scored on all of their first half drives except when they got the ball with just 17 seconds left and kicker Eddy Pineiro tried a career-long 64-yard field goal and hit the bottom of the crossbar just before halftime.
But Purdy had three passing touchdowns on his first three drives, finding Demarcus Robinson, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle to take a 24-14 lead into halftime with Pineiro knocking his first field goal attempt of the game.
With the ball to start the second half, the 49ers once again took it down the field, where Purdy perfectly placed one for Jauan Jennings in the end zone for the three-yard score on third-and-goal to take a 31-17 lead.
The start of the fourth quarter saw a 34-20 lead in favor of the road team, but a 12-play, 65-yard drive changed the dynamic at Lucas Oil Stadium, as Taylor busted through tacklers for the touchdown.
However, Purdy had his own great drive, including three third-down situations all converted. It was McCaffrey scoring for the second time on third-and-goal from the Indianapolis nine-yard line to take a 41-27 lead.
In the box score, Rivers had a tremendous game despite the pick-six, going 23-of-35 for 277 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Purdy, though, bested him with the five touchdowns on 25-of-34 passing for 295 yards.
McCaffrey tallied 146 all-purpose yards, including 117 on the ground on 21 carries. Kittle, who had to leave the game early due to an ankle injury, racked up 115 yards on seven catches with his touchdown grab, while Jennings had 71 yards on five receptions.
For the Colts, Pierce tallied 86 yards on four catches with his two scores, while Josh Downs had five catches for 65 yards. The 49ers kept Taylor at bay on the ground, holding him to just 46 yards on 16 carries.
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