49ers force OT then fall to Colts

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS

San Francisco scored two touchdowns Sunday at Indianapolis.

Hey, it’s progress.

But the offensive woes that have kept the 49ers winless through five games are still there; at times, they were so glaring that even coach Kyle Shanahan couldn’t sugarcoat them following a 26-23 overtime loss.

“You’ve got to have success to get the confidence,” Shanahan said. “That was very frustrating throughout the game – we had a number of opportunities.”

And, as usual, they blew those chances.

The most promising sight was seeing Brian Hoyer go 29 of 46 for 353 yards with two TD passes and no interceptions.

Otherwise, the 49ers didn’t do much.

After scoring a touchdown in one of its first four games, San Francisco went nearly 31/2 quarters without another against the Colts (2-3).

The big scoring barrage came courtesy of a 6-yard shovel pass to Kyle Juszczyk and a 5-yard catch George Kittle made on fourth-and-goal and required his wrestling to barely crack the goal line.

It still wasn’t good enough.

San Francisco has now lost four straight games by three or fewer points, becoming the first team to achieve that dubious feat since the 1994 Houston Oilers. The 49ers were 4 of 14 on third downs, rushed 22 times for 66 yards and couldn’t cross midfield in overtime. Carlos Hyde logged eight carries for 11 yards.

“We have three backs that are up, and we try to give them all carries and go with the hot hand. We felt like [Matt] Breida was the hot hand at the time,” Shanahan said before being asked about Hyde and a possible injury. “No, it was just about trying to go with the hot hand.”

The Colts’ offense didn’t do much either.

They got touchdown runs from Marlon Mack and Jacoby Brissett to take a 23-9 lead early in the fourth quarter, let that lead slip away and then watched Brissett get picked off at the goal line in overtime.

The difference was that when Brissett got another chance, he delivered by positioning Adam Vinatieri for a 51-yard field goal to win it.

“We found a way in overtime,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “We’ll take it right now any way we can. But you’re exactly right. You’re up 14 in the fourth, you’ve got to find a way [to finish].”

REMEMBERING THE PAST

49ers receiver Pierre Garcon (Mount Union) and Colts running back Frank Gore both got a rare chance to face the teams that drafted them. Both played pretty well.

Garcon caught eight passes for 84 yards. Gore, the 49ers’ career rushing leader, finished with 14 carries for 48 yards and three catches for 38 yards. Along the way, he passed Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson (13,259 yards) on the league’s career rushing list, and Colts’ career rushing leader Edgerrin James (3,028) on the league’s all-time carries list. Gore is seventh in both categories with 13,304 yards and 3,040 carries.