Brock Purdy shined on Monday with five touchdown drives in the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-48 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL’s Week 16 season finale.
San Francisco has 11 wins and four losses, a record that placed it in second place in the National Football Conference (NFC) West; it can finish on top of its division and the NFC if it beats the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks in its remaining games.
Colts complicate their playoff berth
With the loss, the Colts, 8-7, are left with remote playoff options.
Their stumble caused the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers to qualify.
Philip Rivers got off to a fast start.
He led Indianapolis on a 72-yard scoring drive that culminated with a diagonal delivery to Alec Pierce that put them up 7-0.
At the Gambusinos’ controls, Brock Purdy responded in kind.
A consistent 69-yard drive capped off with a pass into the painted area that was caught by Demarcus Robinson for the 7-7 tie.
Special teams boost 49ers
San Francisco kept the momentum going thanks to its special teams that led to a loose ball by Ameer Abdullah.
Jake Tonges recovered the fumble, leaving the offense in position for Brock Purdy to connect on his second touchdown catch of the game.
Now with Christian McCaffrey, who turned the score around 7-14.
The aerial circus continued in the second quarter with another series that Rivers, a 44-year-old veteran, finished with a touchdown pass to Alec Pierce for 14-14.
It was broken up in a 14-21 Gambusinos attack thanks to George Kittle’s reception in the diagonals.
An exchange of field goals sent the game into halftime 17-24.
Purdy sentences the game
The 49ers started the third quarter with the effectiveness shown in the first half on a consistent 64-yard series.
It culminated with a touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings that put them away 17-31.
A new exchange of three-point kicks made the score 20-34 to close the half.
Early in the final period the Colts pulled within 27-34 on a Jonathan Taylor touchdown carry.
The Gambusinos immediately extinguished their reaction with Brock Purdy’s fifth touchdown run, the second to Christian McCaffrey, which made it 27-41.
San Francisco sealed the 27-48 victory thanks to a Dee Winters interception that he took all the way to the diagonals.
Results of Week 16 of the NFL Season
Thursday, 18.12: Seahawks 38-37 Rams (TE).
Saturday, 20.12: Commanders 18-29 Eagles, Bears 22-16 Packers (TE).
Sunday 21.12: Browns 20-23 Bills, Cowboys 17-34 Chargers, Titans 26-9 Chiefs, Dolphins 21-45 Bengals, Saints 29-6 Jets, Giants 13-16 Vikings, Panthers 23-20 Buccaneers, Broncos 20-34 Jaguars, Cardinals 19-26 Falcons, Lions 24-29 Steelers, Texans 23-21 Raiders, Ravens-Patriots.
Monday, 22.12: Colts 27-48 49ers.
With information from EFE
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