Brock Purdy became the first 49ers quarterback ever to throw for five touchdown passes in a single Monday Night Football game, and the 49ers romped last night in a yuletide touchdown party over the Indianapolis Colts.The San Francisco 49ers rattled off their fifth straight victory Monday night with a 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts that seemed like just another one of their easy wins over creampuff teams that have characterized the Niners’ last month. But this one was bigger, because the 49ers had already cliched a playoff berth before the game had even started, and found themselves still in the thick of the race for the No 1 seed in the NFC and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.   PHILIP RIVERS OPENING DRIVE TUDDY TO ALEC PIERCE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UDkO1izXzg— ESPN (@espn) December 23, 2025 Jokes galore have been cracked about the Colts’ 44-year-old, pulled-out-of-retirement emergency quarterback Philip Rivers, a man currently playing NFL quarterback even though he’s a grandfather. But the noticeably chubbier Rivers played pretty respectably, going 23-for-35 and 277 yards, plus two TDs and the one interception.Ameer Abdullah coughs it up on the return, Tonges recovers it and the 49ers get the ball right back 🚨#NFL #49ers #Fumble #GameDay pic.twitter.com/SKSZjbDTQW— Aggregate Sports (@AggregateSports) December 23, 2025 The problem was that he plays for the Indianapolis Colts. The 49ers evened it up to 7-7 with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson, and the Colts promptly fumbled the ensuing kickoff to give the Niners that ball at the Indianapolis 26-yard line. An easy two-yard touchdown throw to Christian McCaffrey would put the 49ers up 14-7.SO NICE HE HAD TO DO IT TWICE 🤯 RIVERS TO PIERCE AGAIN TO TIE IT UP 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/XyR4ss8iu6— ESPN (@espn) December 23, 2025 Yet the pesky, aging Philip Rivers would manage to score again, tying the game 14-14. The 49ers would create more breathing room with a second quarter George Kittle touchdown and an Eddy Piñeiro field goal, but we almost got another miracle out of Piñeiro just before halftime.A valiant effort from Eddy Piñeiro on a 64-yard field goal try, but ultimately a doink. 🏈🔊🚫 #NFL #MNF pic.twitter.com/Tv3u3EXUgr— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 23, 2025 Niners coach Kyle Shanahan decided “Fuck it, why not?,” and trotted Piñeiro out for a ridiculously unlikely 64-yard field goal attempt right before halftime. Piñeiro almost hit it! But the ball doinked off the lower crossbar (and quite loudly at that), leaving the halftime score 24-17, Niners.George Kittle -Aggravated a left ankle sprain here while trying to cut. Pretty sure he injured it earlier in the game and has been trying to play through it.Feeling it out on the sideline now but deemed Questionable pic.twitter.com/k7LfpqNHdY— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) December 23, 2025 There are concerns that tight end George Kittle may have injured his ankle when he left the game in the fourth quarter. There has been no announcement of his status for this week’s huge Sunday Night Football game against Chicago.  FIVE TOUCHDOWNS FOR BROCK PURDY 😱 He's the first 49ers QB to throw five pass TDs on MNF 🔥 pic.twitter.com/H3wHSAZO0g— ESPN (@espn) December 23, 2025 But the 49ers kept pouring it on. And with five touchdown passes Monday night, Brock Purdy shockingly became the first 49ers quarterback ever to throw for five touchdowns in a Monday Night Football game. Not even Joe Montana or Steve Young had ever done that!PICKED BY DEE WINTERS AND GOING 75 YARDS TO THE HOUSESFvsIND on ESPNStream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/PChK24B767— NFL (@NFL) December 23, 2025 The 49ers would ice this game with a Dee Winters pick-six interception with less than four minutes left, setting up that lopsided 48-27 final score, and leaving the 49ers with their current outstanding 11-4 record.  Image: NFL.comAnd an 11-4 record is good enough to squeak past the Rams right now in the NFC West divisional standings, but it is not good enough to overcome Seattle at 12-3. The 49ers can still win the division, but that means winning their last two games, including their January 4 matchup with those very Seattle Seahawks.Image: NFL.comThe Seahawks are also the No 1 overall seed in the NFC at the moment, though the 49ers could swipe that No 1 seed from them with two more victories these next two Sundays. But even one loss would drop the 49ers all the way to the sixth seed, and likely a road playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles.So the 49ers have made the playoffs, but they have far more ambitious goals. They’ve got the very formidable Chicago Bears coming in for Sunday Night Football this Sunday in Santa Clara. And if they win that one, there’s a very high likelihood that the final January 4 game against Seattle also gets flexed to prime-time Sunday Night Football. So we’ve got two weeks of very exciting high-stakes 49ers football coming up to ride out this holiday season. For Niners fans enjoying a fifth consecutive win, this really is the most wonderful time of the year. Related: 49ers Rout a Very Sorry Tennessee Titans Team 37-24, Remain Right In the Thick of Playoff Race [SFist]Image: INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 22: Demarcus Robinson #5 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 22, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) ...read more read less