Expect A Hard-Fought Battle On Monday Night Football

49ers vs. Colts, 8:15 ET

We’ve had a whirlwind of football this past week, and the weekend punctuated it all. From college to pros, we had a bunch of both, and hopefully you faded me in the right spots, and tailed me in the others. With the playoff pictures becoming more and more clear, we start to shift the view to what people are playing for, potentially more than examining what they are playing for. That is the case for both of these teams as the 49ers are taking on the Colts.

The 49ers enter the game with a 10-4 record, and considering how this season has been with player availability, that is quite remarkable. I really doubt that Kyle Shannahan will get a lot of credit in terms of coach of the year voting, he probably should get a bulk of it. San Francisco has dealt with injuries to virtually any position you can think of. It feels like week-to-week they were uncertain which of their two quarterbacks would actually start the game. Now that they are healthy, and the rest of the team managed the schedule while they were gone, it is time for them to finalize a remarkable season. They have a legitimate chance to end this season with 12 or 13 wins if they are lucky. 

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 14:  Philip Rivers #17 of the Indianapolis Colts walks off the field following his team's 18-16 loss against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on December 14, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

The Colts have had a bit of an opposite season to the 49ers. You see, they were playing incredibly well to start the season, and were one of the biggest surprises. They were healthy, and they were dominating people with a strong running game, solid defense, and even reliable quarterback play from Daniel Jones. Now, their team is suffering injuries and they went from being a playoff probable to being a team that you have to wonder if they are going to finish the season above .500. They currently sit at 8-6. Perhaps one reason to be excited for them is that they are 6-1 at home, so maybe they can do something productive in this game. They have lost their past four games, but three of those four have been competitive. They lost in overtime to the Chiefs, then lost a close one to the Texans. In their past two, they were blown out by Jacksonville, and then they lost basically at the buzzer to the Seahawks. Philip Rivers, especially for being a grandfather and not throwing in an NFL game since 2021, looked very good last week against Seattle. He will need to do it again here to have any chance at keeping the game close. 

I was very adamant that we should not bet on the Colts last week. I’m not feeling quite as convinced that it is a bad idea this week. I do think the 49ers win, but the Colts kind of have their backs against the wall. A loss here probably seals their fate for missing the playoffs. I won’t overreact to Rivers playing well, though. I’m leaning to the 49ers here -4.5. I think the combination of their defense, and the way their offense has been rolling should give them the victory. My official look is under 45.5. Both defenses have been pretty good about keeping teams from finding the endzone, so we may get more field goals than touchdowns in this one.

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