Purdy leads 49ers with 5 TD throws...

INDIANAPOLIS -- Brock Purdy threw a career-high five touchdown passes and Dee Winters returned an interception of Philip Rivers' final pass 74 yards for a score to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 48-27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night. Purdy completed 25 of 34 passes for 295 yards with 1 interception. Christian McCaffrey rushed 21 times for 117 yards and caught 6 passes for 29 yards and 2 touchdowns. George Kittle had 7 receptions for 115 yards and 1 touchdown. Purdy has seven touchdown passes in the last two games, the most over a two-game stretch by a 49ers quarterback since 2001. 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 Indianapolis 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, 2 touchdowns and the 1 interception. The Colts (8-7) have lost five straight and six of their last seven as their playoff hopes continue to fade. Their loss clinched playoff spots for Buffalo, Jacksonville and the Los Angeles Chargers. Rivers opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Alec Pierce, who had 4 receptions for 86 yards and 2 scores. Purdy countered with a 22-yard scoring pass to Demarcus Robinson. After the Colts fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, Purdy hooked up with McCaffrey for a 2-yard touchdown pass 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 pass to Kittle. Indianapolis 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 touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings, making it 31-17. Jonathan Taylor's 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter cut Indianapolis' deficit to 34-27, but the 49ers sealed it with a 9-yard touchdown pass to McCaffrey with 7:37 to play and Winters' interception return with 3:26 to play. Taylor's touchdown early in the fourth gave him 17 rushing scores this season, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Lenny Moore for the second-highest single season total in franchise history. Kittle injured his ankle while making a cut during the third quarter, and 49ers linebacker Tatum Bethune injured his right ankle late in the third quarter. Indianapolis opened the game without either of its starting offensive tackles -- Braden Smith (concussion) and Bernhard Raimann (elbow) -- then lost center Tanor Bortolini with a concussion on the third offensive play of the game. Then they lost starting right guard Dalton Tucker with shoulder injury in the second half. The Colts also lost defensive end JT Tuimoloau with an oblique injury in the first half.