Perfect Purdy shows mettle on MNF as San Francisco 49ers see off Indianapolis Colts
Brock Purdy overshadowed Philip Rivers in Indianapolis
Brock Purdy delivered a masterclass – and a sign of his growing maturity in high pressure situations – as the San Francisco 49ers cruised past the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football.
Purdy finished 25-of-34 for 295 yards with five touchdowns and an interception as the Niners won 48-27 at Lucas Oil Stadium to improve to 11-4 for the season.
The 25-year-old became the first San Francisco quarterback to throw five TDs in a game since Steve Young in Super Bowl XXIX.
Purdy has not always been at his best on MNF, throwing five TDs and 11 interceptions on his five previous appearances, with the 2023 Christmas night defeat to the Baltimore Ravens particularly disappointing.
“[I’m] not letting the environment or the situation of the season and the game dictate how I go out and think throughout a game,” Purdy said. “I feel like right now, I’ve got to be my best one play at a time. That Christmas game a couple years ago it was like, ‘Man, we’re on Christmas, Monday night, MVP talk, like hit a couple of completions early in the game and felt good.’ And then after that, I’m getting complacent with going through my reads and stuff and making the right decisions. [I] definitely have learned from that, but there’s always still room for improvement.”
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Shanahan hails ‘awesome’ Purdy
Purdy appears to be going through the gears before the playoffs.
“He did awesome,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He played really well. I got on him for a couple [throws] he missed, but it was pretty close to a perfect game.”
Win them both and they will secure the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and have the added advantage of knowing they would be at home throughout the postseason with Super Bowl LX also being staged at their Levi’s Stadium home.
“When you know you’re in the playoffs, you shift your goals next and that’s trying to make the playoffs the best situation you possibly can,” Shanahan said. “We’d love to try to play a home game at Levi’s. We knew the only way to do that was to win tonight versus Colts. We got that done.”
Rivers swims against the tide
Purdy’s efforts overshadowed a fine performance from Colts QB Philip Rivers.
The 44-year-old, who came out of retirement two weeks ago, has yet to win on his return but still dazzled with 277 yards and two touchdown passes.
“There’s no prize for losing,” Rivers said. “But, again, it was better this week from a standpoint of offensively and [putting] points on the board. But you’ve got to win. … Right now, we’re not getting that done and I know this locker room is hurting. Again, I’ve been a part of it for a short time, for two losses. And I know that it’s been a long slide now for over a month, and I know that’s tough.
“But we’ve just got to find a way to dig deep and find a way to win a football game.”