The San Francisco 49ers (11-4) stored tempo within the NFC playoff image with a 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts (8-7), whose once-bright season has taken a darkish flip.
This is our speedy response to a Monday night time barnburner.
Key takeaway: San Francisco 49ers nonetheless alive for No. 1 seed
Who would have thought the 49ers could be on this place with two weeks left within the common season? Undoubtedly not when the staff was compelled to start out Mac Jones for eight video games as Brock Purdy sat as a consequence of harm, or when it misplaced All-Professional linebacker Fred Warner for the season. The choice to put Brandon Aiyuk on the season-ending reserve checklist earlier than even enjoying a down in 2025 did not seem to be the jolt the staff wanted, both. But right here the Niners are in what’s turn out to be head coach Kyle Shanahan’s most spectacular season. And with wins over the Chicago Bears (11-4) and Seattle Seahawks (12-3) within the subsequent two weeks, San Francisco will clinch the 1-seed within the NFC and inch nearer to internet hosting Tremendous Bowl LX in Santa Clara this February.
Recreation MVP: 49ers operating again Christian McCaffrey
The 2023 Related Press Offensive Participant of the Yr had one in every of his greatest speeding video games of the season towards Indianapolis, ending with 21 carries for 117 yards. It was simply the third time this season McCaffrey has eclipsed the 100-yard mark and the fourth time he averaged over 4 yards per carry.
McCaffrey had simply as large an impression as a receiver, hauling in two touchdowns, together with one within the first quarter to present San Francisco a 14-7 lead. Quarterback Brock Purdy exploited his mismatch with a linebacker, resulting in McCaffrey’s 61st reception versus a linebacker, probably the most within the league this season. (h/t Subsequent Gen Stats)
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘1324276914788316’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
