The game had everything: Rivers, Purdy, and a Niners victory

The game had virtually everything. A 44-year-old quarterback, Philip Rivers, on his way to the Hall of Fame; a 25-year-old quarterback, Brock Purdy, who if he keeps playing as he did very well may be on his way to the Hall of Fame; and most of all, a win for the 49ers.

San Francisco defeated the Colts, 48-27, on Monday night in Indianapolis, and with victories in its final 2 regular-season games, would earn the NFC Championship and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Not so fast. Not with those games against the Chicago Bears this coming Sunday night and the division-leading Seattle Seahawks the following weekend, both in San Francisco.

In a way, this is all amazing. Starting with Rivers, the grandfather quarterback, who stepped out of retirement two weeks ago to take over for a Colts franchise hit by injuries. If that was unexpected, so was the 49ers' probable move into the postseason after a rather inadequate start because of key players getting hurt.

First, a mention of Rivers, who threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns. His final pass became a pick-six, intercepted by the Niners' Dee Winters and returned 74 yards for a touchdown with 3:38 remaining, which was a jarring conclusion. 

“He’s a legend,” Purdy said of Rivers. 

Purdy was pretty legendary himself Monday night. He completed 25 of 34 for 295 yards and five touchdowns. Yes, the 49ers offense is on a roll. The last couple of games it made the punt obsolete.

“One drive at a time,” said Purdy. “We have to keep executing the way we did. I am proud of our guys. It feels good to play again as a team on the road. It was a key win for us.”

Purdy, who signed a 5-year $265 million contract in the spring, congratulated his teammates for getting to the postseason, which the Niners had done before they played, after other contenders lost on Sunday.

As usual, Christian McCaffrey was in the middle of things. He rushed for 117 yards and caught 6 passes for 29 yards, and scored two touchdowns. Jauan Jennings caught 5 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown.  

“We have to keep our confidence going,” said Jennings. “Every day is a grind-it-out week.” 

Perhaps the time period as listed by Jennings is a bit confusing, but his job is catching balls, not keeping track of the incidentals. Days, weeks, when you are playing in the NFL, sometimes everything is mixed up.

The Niners seemed particularly bewildered and ineffective after they lost two of their best defensive players because of injuries, edge rusher Nick Bosa, third game of the season, and linebacker Fred Warner in early October. Somehow, they survived to this point, and here they are with a chance to post the best record in the conference.

Even if they don’t accomplish this, just to make it as far as they have is more than expected, thanks to that offense.