Brock Purdy throws career-high five touchdowns as 49ers roll over Colts | NFL

Brock Purdy threw a career-high five touchdown pblockes and Dee Winters returned an interception of Philip Rivers’ final pblock 74 yards for a score to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 48-27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night.

Purdy was 25 of 34 for 295 yards with one interception, plus his five TD throws. Christian McCaffrey rushed 21 times for 117 yards and caught six pblockes for 29 yards and two scores. George Kittle had seven receptions for 115 yards and one TD.

“When you’re in that huddle, it’s only one voice speaking,” 49ers left tackle Trent Williams said of his quarterback. “You’ve got 10 grown men staring at you and you can’t fool grown men. The confidence that he has in that huddle … from A to Z, he does it at a really high level. I say it all the time. He’s a godsend.”

The 49ers (11-4) won their fifth straight to stay in the chase for the NFC’s top seed, one day after clinching a playoff spot by virtue of Detroit’s loss to Pittsburgh. San Francisco also snapped a five-game losing streak in the series, beating Indy for the first time since Jim Mora’s infamous “playoffs” rant in November 2001.

But 44-year-old Rivers sure didn’t make it easy on San Francisco in his second game back after a five-year layoff. He was 23 of 35 for 277 yards, two TDs and the one interception. The Colts (8-7) have lost five straight overall and six of their last seven as their playoff hopes continue to fade.

“I’m torn on how to express it, because it’s been a blast,” Rivers said as he contemplated Monday’s loss. “It’s been a blast to prepare and to … get ready and go out there and warm up and do all that with these guys again. But, again, the name of the game is not go have a good time. It’s help find a way to lead your team to a win. And we’ve come up short.”

The Colts’ loss clinched playoff spots for Buffalo, Jacksonville and the Chargers.

Rivers opened the scoring with a 20-yard TD pblock to Alec Pierce, who had four receptions for 86 yards and two scores. Purdy countered with a 22-yard scoring pblock to Demarcus Robinson.

After the Colts fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, Purdy hooked up with McCaffrey for a two-yard TD pblock to make it 14-7 late in the first quarter. Rivers tied the score early in the second by neatly fitting a 16-yard throw to Pierce in a tight window. Purdy broke the tie with an 11-yard touchdown pblock to Kittle, who played through an ankle injury.

“I don’t think it’s a high ankle sprain,” Kittle, who is set to undergo tests on the injury, said after the game. “We’ll take it one day at a time, and we’ll go from there.”

Indy and San Francisco then traded late field goals and Eddie Pineiro’s 64-yard attempt hit the crossbar as time expired.

The track meet continued in the second half as Purdy capped the first possession with a 15-yard TD pblock to Jauan Jennings, making it 31-17.

Jonathan Taylor’s one-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter cut Indy’s deficit to 34-27, but the 49ers sealed it with a nine-yard touchdown pblock to McCaffrey with 7:37 to play and Winters’ interception return with 3:26 to play.