Brock Purdy threw a career-high five touchdown passes, two to running back Christian McCaffrey, and the San Francisco 49ers remained in the thick of the NFC West title chase with a 48-27 road victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.
McCaffrey rushed for 117 yards and hauled in TD passes of 2 yards in the first quarter and 9 yards in the fourth, helping the 49ers (11-4) remain one game behind the Seattle Seahawks (12-3) in the NFC West with two games remaining. The Los Angeles Rams are also 11-4.
The 49ers, who won their opener at Seattle, host the Seahawks in the regular-season finale.
Seeking a fifth straight win, San Francisco extended a seven-point halftime lead to 31-17 on Purdy’s fourth TD toss of the game, a 3-yarder to Jauan Jennings early in the third period.
Riding a 277-yard, two-touchdown performance by Philip Rivers, Indianapolis (8-7) got back within one score at 34-27 on a Jonathan Taylor 1-yard plunge with 12:41 to play in the fourth quarter. But the 49ers countered immediately with a 10-play, 70-yard drive, capped by McCaffrey’s clinching TD with 7:37 remaining.
San Francisco linebacker Dee Winters returned an interception 74 yards for the game’s final score with 3:26 left.
Purdy finished 25 of 34 for 295 yards with one interception. George Kittle was the game’s leading receiver with seven catches for 115 yards and an 11-yard score in the second quarter.
Attempting to pass the Colts out of a four-game skid, Rivers completed 23 of 35 passes with one interception. Both of his TD tosses went to Alec Pierce — from 20 yards out in the first quarter and 16 yards in the second period. Pierce wound up with four catches for 86 yards.
In a game projected to feature a duel between two of the league’s top running backs, the first half turned into a passers’ battle between Purdy and Rivers, with San Francisco taking a 24-17 lead into the break.
Rivers threw for 175 yards and his two scores in the half, but most of the first 30 minutes was dominated by the San Francisco offense.
Purdy threw three TD passes in the half — a 22-yarder to Demarcus Robinson, the 2-yarder to McCaffrey and the 11-yarder to Kittle.
For the game, the 49ers outgained the hosts 440 yards to 312, including 145-58 on the ground. Taylor was held to 46 yards on 16 carries.
The loss dropped the Colts out of title contention in the AFC South. They remain alive in the AFC wild-card chase, however, trailing the Houston Texans (10-5) by two games with two remaining.
