SF 49ers drop fourth straight in loss to Colts
Sloppy Jimmy Garoppolo with 3 turnovers.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) ready to pass against the Indianapolis Colts during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2021.10.24 – Jimmy Garoppolo committed three of San Francisco’s four turnovers, the defense was flagged five times for pass interference and the 49ers lost 30-18 to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
A game that started with three straight scoring drives in the first quarter ended with a couple of interceptions by Garoppolo.
Now the question is where do the San Francisco 49ers head from here following a fourth straight loss?
After starting the season with back-to-back road wins that gave them aspirations as a contender, the Niners (2-4) haven’t won since.
“The NFL is a crazy thing. One week, you’re on top. One week, you’re at the bottom of it,” Garoppolo said. “Every team has its ups and downs. We’re at the lower point right now. But we can fight back.”
The 49ers are running out of time to do just that as they have struggled to put together a complete performance and fell to 1-7 at Levi’s Stadium the past two seasons.
This game started off promising enough with a sharp touchdown drive on the opening possession, followed by a fumble recovery on the first defensive play that helped them jump out to a 9-0 lead.
They added another field goal on the third possession before having four three-and-outs, four turnovers, a stalled end-of-half possession and one TD drive on their next 10 possessions.
Poor weather that featured a driving rain storm all night and poor execution that led to seven penalties for 122 yards doomed San Francisco.
2021.10.24 – (SF 49ers vs. Colts) (NFL Video Highlights)
Indianapolis Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox (81) jumps into the end zone to score against the San Francisco 49ers during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2021.10.24 – (SF 49ers vs. Colts) (NFL Video Highlights)
“It’s tough playing in that weather to begin with, just the mental toughness you have to have. But then when things are going wrong like that, it makes for a tough night,” Garoppolo said. “It was very frustrating. We’re going to stick together. We got a team that we do have playmakers, we got players, we got good coaches and we got to stick together at this point.”
Garoppolo went 16 for 27 for 181 yards with a lost fumble and two interceptions in his first game back after missing one contest with a calf injury.
With the Niners reeling, the questions are mounting about when coach Kyle Shanahan will make the move to rookie Trey Lance at quarterback.
San Francisco traded three first-round picks to draft Lance third overall and he started the one game Garoppolo missed but was out this week with a sprained left knee.
2021.10.24 – 49ers vs. Colts (Kyle : 49ers need to be ‘tough-minded,’ Video)
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, middle, and wide receivers coach Wes Welker, right, watch during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
2021.10.24 – 49ers vs. Colts (Kyle : 49ers need to be ‘tough-minded,’ Video)
2021.10.24 – 49ers vs. Colts (Kyle : 49ers need to be ‘tough-minded,’ Video)
Shanahan would only say “I would guess so” when asked about whether Garoppolo would start next week in Chicago.
“I’ve got a whole team to worry about it,” he added. “It’s just not that situation right now. I have to evaluate everything. We have a lot of things to fix.”
The problems in San Francisco are deeper than at quarterback. The defensive backs have been unable to play cleanly most of the season and were called for five more pass interference penalties.
One was wiped out as an offsetting penalty and another was declined when Michael Pittman Jr. still made a 57-yard catch, but the other three infractions led to 97 yards for Indianapolis, setting up two touchdowns.
San Francisco has been called for a league-worst 14 pass interference penalties on the season.
“We’re just not doing it good enough,” Shanahan said. “We’ve been struggling with it all year. Today was the worst.”
2021.10.24 – 49ers vs. Colts (Lombardi : What is wrong with the 49ers Video)
2021.10.24 – 49ers vs. Colts (Lombardi : What is wrong with the 49ers Video)
Colts coach Frank Reich wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
After being burned by a conservative third-down run call late in a loss to Baltimore two weeks ago, Reich put the ball in Carson Wentz’s hands this time — and it paid off.
Wentz threw a 28-yard TD pass to Michael Pittman Jr. to finish off the 49ers on Sunday night.
Instead of playing for a field goal the way he did late against the Ravens that contributed to an overtime loss, Reich stayed aggressive even in the treacherous conditions.
“I felt like something about learning the lesson from the Ravens game,” he said. “We had a third-and-8 and I called a run. I told the guys, ‘I’m not doing that again. I’m throwing a pass.’ I don’t care what anybody says. It really comes from trusting your quarterback and trusting your receivers.”
Wentz and Pittman earned that trust, delivering numerous big plays during a driving rain storm that could have made throwing deep difficult.
Pittman had four catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. He also drew two other pass interference calls as Wentz repeatedly looked his direction as the Colts (3-4) overcame the wet conditions and an early nine-point deficit to win for the third time in four games following an 0-3 start to the season.
“It seems like he just goes into a kind of a beast mode kind of deal,” running back Jonathan Taylor said of Pittman. “When the ball is in his hands, he’s like, ‘No one is stopping me.’ And if the ball is in the air, he’s like, ‘This ball is mine, or it’s a PI. This is my ball.’”
The 49ers (2-4) dropped their fourth straight game and remained winless at home for more than a year since beating the Rams on Oct. 18, 2020, as the return of starting quarterback Garoppolo failed to provide any spark on a wet night.
Garoppolo threw for 181 yards, lost a fumble, threw two interceptions and struggled to push the ball downfield in his first game back after missing one game with a calf injury.
“The NFL is a crazy thing,” Garoppolo said. “One week, you’re on top. One week, you’re at the bottom of it. Every team has its ups and downs. We’re at the lower point right now. But we can fight back.”
Wentz and the Colts were able to do just enough on offense thanks to three pass interference penalties for 97 yards and a productive game on the ground from Taylor, who ran for 107 yards and a score.
Wentz threw an 11-yard TD pass to Mo Alie-Cox in the first quarter and then led two short TD drives following fumbles by San Francisco, leading to his 1-yard score late in the first half and Taylor’s 5-yard run that made it 20-12 late in the third.
Garoppolo led a TD drive early in the fourth, cutting the deficit to 20-18 on a 14-yard throw to Deebo Samuel. But his 2-point try was batted down at the line.
The Colts then put it away by driving for a field goal and getting the late TD pass from Wentz to Pittman on another short field after Xavier Rhodes intercepted Garoppolo.
“I’ve got to catch them,” Pittman said. “Carson can really throw it out there, so I just got to make sure that I’m the one who comes down with it.”
IN THE SLOP
The driving rain storm had a big impact on the game, especially during a stretch midway through the second quarter.
Colts running back Nyheim Hines got wide open downfield on a third-down pass that slipped right through his hands.
Indianapolis then punted and Brandon Aiyuk muffed the ball before kicking it back nearly 20 yards into the end zone. He recovered it and it was ruled a touchback because he never had possession.
Wentz and Garoppolo both fumbled snaps that they recovered later in the quarter before Samuel lost a fumble for San Francisco at his own 28 on a perfect punchout by Darius Leonard.
That set up a 1-yard run by Wentz that gave the Colts a 13-12 halftime lead.
TAKE IT AWAY
The Niners came in with a league-low two takeaways but doubled that total in the first half.
Taylor fumbled on Indianapolis first play from scrimmage and Fred Warner recovered to set up a field goal by Joey Slye that made it 9-0.
Wentz then made an inexplicable decision early in the second quarter. As he was trying to run away from Nick Bosa, Wentz appeared to flip the ball forward right into Azeez Al-Shaair’s hands. It was ruled a fumble.
INJURY REPORT
Colts: CB BoPete Keyes (hamstring) left in the first half and didn’t return.
49ers: LT Trent Williams was scratched after aggravating an ankle injury last week in practice. Rookie Jaylon Moore made his first career start in his place. … S Jaquiski Tartt (knee), DE Dee Ford (head injury) and CB Emmanuel Moseley (back) all left the game.
UP NEXT
Colts: Host Titans on Sunday.
49ers: Visit Chicago on Sunday.
Related – See below: Mostert’s Epic Dash to Super Bowl!
Related: 49ers Lance Shows Promise in Loss to AZ
Read more at: San Francisco 49ers Media Services / More AP NFL
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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Mostert’s Epic Dash to Super Bowl!