INDIANAPOLIS (2-4) at SAN FRANCISCO (2-3).
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
OPENING LINE: 49ers by 4.1/2, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
AGAINST THE SPREADS: San Francisco 1-4; Indianapolis 4-2
SERIES RECORD – Colts lead 26-18
LAST MEETING: Colts defeated 49ers 26-23, overtime, Oct. 8, 2017, in Indianapolis.
LAST WEEK – Colts defeated Texans 31-3. 49ers had bye, lost to Cardinals 17-10 on October 10.
COLTS OFFENSE OVERALL (15), RUSH (11) and PASS (16), SCORING (19).
COLTS DEFENSE OVERALL (20), RUSH (14) and PASS (20), SCORING (11).
49ERS OFFENSE OVERALL (14), RUSH (12), PASS (12), SCORING (17).
49ERS DEFENSE OVERALL (6), RUSH (18), PASS (7) and SCORING (15).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Colts plus-7; 49ers minus-5.
COLTS PLAYER TO WATCH: DeForest Buckner. Indy was able to trade the 2020 All-Pro defensive tackle from San Francisco in March 2020. Although he acknowledged that this was not the start he had in mind, neither for him nor the team, he now has the opportunity to make a statement against his former club.
49ERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo will be back after missing one game due to a right-calf injury. Garoppolo was not sharp in his two previous starts. He completed 61.9% of his passes with three touchdowns, two intercepts, and an 84.2 passer rating.
KEY MATCHUP Colts RB Jonathan Taylor against 49ers LB Fred Warner. Warner was so impressed by Taylor’s play in college in 2017, that he told the teams at the combine that Taylor was the greatest player he had ever faced. Taylor’s second season in the NFL saw him average 5.1 yards per carry.
KEY INJURIES – Indy placed Parris Campbell, a receiver who had sustained a foot injury on a 51-yard TD catch, on IR. … T Braden Smith (foot/thumb), G Quenton Nelson (sprained ankle), and DE Kemoko Tray (groin) could all be out of the Colts’ lineup again. K Michael Badgley replaces Rodrigo Blankenship in the hip. Trey Lance, the backup quarterback for the Niners, is likely to be out of action due to a left knee injury. After missing two games due to a calf injury, slot CB K’Waun Wils of San Francisco is expected to return.
SERIES NOTES – The Colts have won four of the last four series meetings, including a 26-24 OT win in 2017, which dropped San Francisco to 0-5 under Kyle Shanahan. The Niners defeated Peyton Manning four more times in a victory of 40-21 in 2001. This loss led to Jim Mora’s “playoffs” rant …. Colts quarterback Carson Wentz winning both of his career starts against San Francisco. He also won a win-from-behind 25-20 victory last October for Philadelphia.
STATS AND STUFF: Wentz can match Andrew Luck’s, Peyton Manning’s and John Unitas franchise record for the most consecutive games with a passer score of 115.0 on Sunday. He has now had three consecutive. … Taylor ran for an impressive 145 yards in Houston’s win and had 116 yards receiving at Baltimore the week before. Taylor has 1,291 yards rushing in his 13 previous games and 12 TD runs. … Indy LB Darius Leonard had a takeaway in 4 consecutive games. In seven consecutive games, the Colts have had at least one turnover. … Arizona is tied for second with the Colts in terms of most fumble recovery this season, seven. Los Angeles Rams have the fewest penalties, 24. … San Francisco has now lost three consecutive games. … In the past two seasons, the Niners have gone 1-6 at Levi’s Stadium. … San Francisco WR Deebo Sampson had 71 yards at scrimmage, his fourth career TD run and had 71 yards in the loss to Arizona. Samuel has at least five receptions in four of the five games this season. … The Niners DE Nick Bosa has five sacks, the most in five games since Bryant Young had six back in 2005.
FANTASY TIP: Indianapolis, WR T.Y. Hilton, who had suffered a neck injury, made his 2021 debut with four catches and 80 yards. Hilton was able to catch seven passes for 177 yards last year when he faced San Francisco. Although he is currently battling quadriceps issues, he is expected to continue playing.
