It’s the Hard Times Bowl as the winless San Francisco 49ers (0-4) face off against the Luckless Indianapolis colts (1-3) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The game will be transmitted for your viewing displeasure on your local FOX station at 1 p.m. Viewer discretion is advised.
The Game: San Francisco 49ers at Indianapolis Colts (-1.5)
O/U: 44.5
The History
The rivalry between the two teams stretches all the way back to 1947. They’ve played 54 games with the Colts holding a 25-19 advantage.
The Colts and 49ers last met on September 22, 2013 with Indianapolis winning 27-7.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (0-4)
No team has played harder for absolutely nothing this season than the 49ers. Three of their four losses have been by three points or less. Two games they lost either in overtime or by giving up a field goal late in the fourth quarter. With the pressure on in those situations, Brian Hoyer is the last guy you want on the field. Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, Hoyer completed 24 of 49 passing for 234 yards, no touchdowns and a pick.
Carlos Hyde has yet to really bust out. He’s put up decent numbers, but not what he’s capable of doing. A lot of that has to do with the lack of a passing offense for much of the game and facing third and long far too often. Against the Colts, Hyde could break out for a big day. He’s got the talent. Unfortunately for the kid, he’s never been on the team.
Hoyer delivered the ball to eight different receivers last week, with Aldrick Robinson leading the team with three catches for 52 yards. Rookie Trent Taylor is more involved in the offense and that should start paying dividends. He caught five passes for 47 yards. If Hoyer can keep him in his pocket as an outlet on these pass plays, the entire offense will work better.
If you scratch out a Los Angeles Rams team that’s put a shitload of points on every team they’ve played, the 49ers have been solid on defense. They held the Panthers to 23, the Seahawks to 12 and the Cardinals to 18 in overtime. San Francisco sacked Carson Palmer six times and had 11 tackles for a loss. Elvis Dumervill led the way with two sacks.
Safety Eric Reid is still out with a knee injury. It’s a hamstring for Adrian Colbert that will cost him another game and a groin will keep Dekoda Watson on the sidleine.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (1-3)
First, here’s the good news. Andrew Luck practiced this week on Wednesday and Friday. The bad news is, he’s out for Sunday and won’t even dress. How soon he actually shows up on the field might be anyone’s guess, but if I wanted to bet on it, it’ll be at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars on October 22.
That means we’ve still got Mr. Focus himsef, Jacoby Brissett, in at quarterback for the Colts. Indianapolis got a solid half out of the second year QB against the Seahawks, but the wheels fell off in the third quarter. Indianapolis led 13-10 at the half. They lost 46-18 and a lot of that was on Brissett and his two ill-timed turnovers.
The Colts defense wilted too in the second half. After stalling out Seattle’s offense for 30 minutes of football time, they bent over and presented themselves like a Bonobo in the third quarter. They did a solid job against the run, but Russell Wilson passed all over them. Hoyer is obviously not Wilson, but Kyle Shanahan has watched that game tape and should be able to exploit some match ups with Taylor, Pierre Garcon and Marquise Goodwin.
It won’t help that the Colts will be without cornerback Nate Hairston who will miss the game with a quad injury. Brissett will be without his favorite passing target, Jack Doyle as well, who is still in the concussion protocol.
The Pick
The 49ers needed the Colts to show up on the schedule this week. This one might turn out uglier than a 3 a.m. Tinder date, but I think San Francisco finally gets Shanahan the first win of his head coaching career. 49ers 27, Colts 24
This week
Straight up: 1-0
Against the spread: 1-0
Last week
Straight up: 9-7
Against the spread: 10-6
Season
Straight up: 37-26
Against the spread: 32-31
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