The Good, Bad, & Ugly as Colts Crumble vs. 49ers

For the fifth game in a row, the Indianapolis Colts have lost.

Indy's late-season collapse continued as they allowed 48 points to the San Francisco 49ers on home turf in Week 16's edition of Monday Night Football, the Colts' only primetime game of the season. After taking an early lead thanks to an extremely promising drive led by Philip Rivers, the Colts never settled down under the spotlight.

The Colts have now lost six Monday night games in a row. This one might have been the worst of the bunch.

Let's take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Indy's brutal defeat.

The Good

Alec Pierce

Once again, Alec Pierce proved why he deserves a hefty contract extension this offseason. Pierce and Rivers made an early statement by connecting for a 20-yard touchdown on a "free play", and then they followed that up with another throw-and-catch for a 16-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14-all early in the second quarter.

Tonight marked the first two-touchdown game in Pierce's career. Some, including me, figured that Pierce would be a non-factor in a Rivers-led offense. That couldn't be further from the truth.

Pierce now had 43 grabs for 873 yards and 4 touchdowns on the season. With two games left to play, Pierce has established himself as the top target in the Colts' offense.

Philip Rivers (For the most part)

Aside from a garbage-time pick-six, Rivers outperformed all expectations on Monday. Sure, he missed a few deep balls, but the intermediate passing was unlocked in his second start back from retirement.

Rivers finished 23-for-35 with 277 yards, 2 touchdowns, and a pick. He also had a costly fumble that set the Colts up on their own five-yard line late in the fourth quarter.

Rivers completed passes to eight different receivers. Pierce finished with the most yards, but Josh Downs hauled in five catches himself.

Sign Up For the Colts Daily Digest - OnSI’s Indianapolis Colts Newsletter

The Bad

Jonathan Taylor and the Run Game

I won't pin the entire blame on Jonathan Taylor himself, but the Colts' run game was the worst it's looked all season. With Braden Smith, Bernhard Raimann, and Tanor Bortilini sidelined, the Colts struggled to establish the ground game.

Taylor ended with 16 carries for 46 yards and a one-yard score. His 2.9 yards per carry was the lowest mark he's had all year, and it's the fourth time in the last five games that he's finished under 4 YPC.

The Colts were forced to play three backup linemen, and you could tell. There were minimal running lanes, and it seemed the blockers never got to the second level, which meant Taylor was swarmed the instant he reached the line of scrimmage. His longest rush of the day went for seven yards.

Special Teams Mistakes

The Colts completely failed in the third phase. Aside from Blake Grupe's perfect kicking, special teams had a disappointing performance on Monday.

It all started on the kickoff after the 49ers scored their first touchdown of the game. Ameer Abdullah caught the ball, ran 18 yards, and dropped the ball. The veteran running back's mistake set San Francisco up on the Colts' 27-yard line, and Brock Purdy converted the field position with an easy touchdown toss to Christian McCaffrey.

The Colts decided to bench Abdullah, placing Tyler Goodson in his spot. With Ashton Dulin and Anthony Gould out, the Colts were running thin in the return game. Goodson had a 50-plus-yard return called back due to holding, which effectively ended any momentum the Colts might have had.

Indy couldn't afford any extra penalties or turnovers in the third phase, but both things happened.

The Ugly

An Abysmal Pass Defense

Dec 22, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; A pass intended for San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) falls incomplete as Indianapolis Colts cornerback Jaylon Jones (40) applies pressure during the second quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The Colts allowed Brock Purdy to have his first career game with 5-plus passing touchdowns. Every week, it seems that the Colts find a way to allow a historical game from the opposing quarterback.

Indy was without Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward Sr., but that shouldn't excuse the atrocious performance we witnessed on Monday night. Purdy dropped 295 yards, with George Kittle hauling in 115 of those.

The Colts allowed 20 passing first downs on the day, which tracks with their league-worst passing first downs allowed per game (13).

Aside from the secondary, the linebackers couldn't cover anything across the middle. Kittle caught contested catch after contested catch, and McCaffrey burned Zaire Franklin and Germaine Pratt on underneath routes for easy yards.

The Pass Rush

Over the past three weeks, the Colts have only recorded two sacks. They got just one against the 49ers on primetime.

The lone sack was thanks to Laiatu Latu, who is also responsible for the Colts' only other sack over the past three games. The rest of the pass rush has been asleep at the worst possible time.

It seemed that Purdy had a clean pocket for the majority of the game, and when the Colts did send the heat, Purdy stepped up and threw a dime.

The Colts' playoff chances are looking real grim. If the pass rush doesn't figure it out, they'll have absolutely no chance.