49ers Lose another Close one in Overtime

Week 5 - With a trip to Indianapolis to take on the (1-3) Colts for the first time since the end of the Peyton Manning era, the (0-4) San Francisco 49ers would be reunited with one of their own franchise greats in running back Frank Gore, a match up Niners linebacker NaVorro Bowman was excited for as the two spent five seasons together as teammates and remain close to one another to this day. A day after revealing the statue of Peyton Manning outside of Lucas Oil Stadium, the Colts honored the great No. 18 by inducting him into their ring ceremony and officially retiring his jersey during halftime. But with the 49ers still seeking their first win of the season, San Francisco would look to crash the party and spoil the special day arranged for one of the game's all-time greats.

Looking to continue his success against the Colts who he threw a career-high 397 passing yards against in Week 5 a season ago while a member of the Chicago Bears, QB Brian Hoyer had himself another nice game statistically after shaking off a slow start. But before any scoring would be done, Colts running back Frank Gore would move his way up the rankings on the NFL's all-time rushing list with a 9-yard carry on Indy's first possession as he passed Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson to move into the No. 7 spot. Several plays later, another all-time great added his name to the record books as Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri converted on a 52-yard field goal to give his team an early 3-0 lead while also becoming the third player ever with 2,000 points. With nothing but field goals to show for and the score tied at 6 heading into the half, San Francisco opened the third quarter with more woes on third down as their league-worst third down efficiency continued to plummet as the 49ers converted on only 4 of their 14 third down tries on Sunday. Because of those woes, it wouldn't be long before Hoyer and company found themselves behind by double-digits with less than 10 minutes to play in regulation.

Trailing 23-9 following back-to-back touchdown scoring drives by the Colts, coach Kyle Shanahan would need his offense to ditch the field goals for touchdowns if they stood any chance of pulling off the comeback. It would be a tall task, however, as the 49ers found themselves in a drought that saw 22 consecutive possessions without a touchdown. But a pair of deep passes hauled in by receiver Marquise Goodwin spanning 20 and 51 yards would put the Niners in position to score that elusive touchdown. Facing a 3rd and 6, Hoyer would find fullback Kyle Juszczyk with a shovel pass as he bulldozed his way into the end zone to pull his team within a touchdown. The 6-yard score would be San Francisco's first touchdown since Week 3 and first on the road this season. With a much needed stop on defense on Indy's ensuing possession, San Francisco would get the ball back with 5:29 remaining in regulation. They would use all but 20 seconds of that time by stringing together a 14-play drive that featured two 4th down conversions on passes to rookie tight-end George Kittle, the first of which on a 19-yard connection on 4th and 1 and the second on 4th and goal from the 5 as Kittle caught the ball and just made it over the goal line, thus tying the score at 23-all and sending the game into overtime.

With Indianapolis winning the coin toss and electing to receive in OT, it didn't appear that the 49ers would even get a chance to possess the ball as Colts QB Jacoby Brissett (22 for 34, 314 yards) marched his team all the way to the 8-yard line following multiple strikes down the field including a 46-yarder to T.Y. Hilton who amassed a game-high 177-yards receiving on 7 receptions. That wouldn't be the case, however, as 49ers linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong came up with his second interception in the end zone in as many weeks as he leaped into the air for the pickoff and returned it 29-yards. But after a costly holding penalty by the 49ers offensive-line, San Francisco would fail to cash in on their golden opportunity and were forced to punt. From there, backup running back Marlon Mack who showed the potential to be the team's starting running back of the future as he tallied 91-yards rushing on the afternoon including a 35-yard gain on his final carry of the ball game to put the Colts in field goal range and setup their Pro-Bowl kicker for the game-winner. And from 51-yards out, Vinatieri would add yet another feather to his cap as one of the most clutch kickers of all-time split the uprights one more time to give his team the 26-23 victory.

For San Francisco, the loss would be their fifth in as many games this season which in itself is frustrating, but perhaps even more so simply because of just how close they've been as they've now lost the last four games by a combined 11-points. And like they did a week ago in their overtime loss to Arizona, the 49ers squandered yet another golden opportunity in overtime as victory slipped through their hands once again. On the positive side of things, kicker Robbie Gould who had made 28 straight field goals entering Sunday added a trio of makes on Sunday to improve his streak to 31 consecutive made field goals, the longest active streak in the NFL. Brian Hoyer threw for 353 yards on the afternoon, 94 of those yards would go to former Colts wide-out Pierre Garcon who caught a game-high 8 passes while also adding to his streak of 271 consecutive receptions without a fumble, the longest active streak of its kind. Running back Carlos Hyde appeared to once again be bothered by his lingering hip injury as he started the game but missed a majority of the second quarter and all of the third quarter before returning late in the fourth.

Week 6 Preview - Rounding out their current 3-game round trip and 5th road game in seven weeks, the (0-5) 49ers will pay a visit to the nation's capital to take on the (2-2) Washington Redskins. Coming off a BYE week, QB Kirk Cousins and company will look to keep pace with the first place Philadelphia Eagles as he matches up with his former offensive coordinator in Kyle Shanahan. With rumors swirling regarding the 49ers showing interest in acquiring Cousins next season, the game could very well be a tryout as Shanahan and general manager John Lynch will get a clear look at Cousins on the field. San Francisco, meanwhile, will try and make his day as miserable as possible as they look to log their first win of the season before returning home next week to host Dallas. And just like Week 5 when they were reunited with long time Niner Frank Gore, San Francisco will see another familiar face in Washington as former head coach Jim Tomsula will be on the opposite sideline serving as the Redskins' defensive-line coach, a position he excelled at for 8 seasons with the 49ers.


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