The San Francisco 49ers turned Monday Night Football into a season-shaping win, crushing the Indianapolis Colts 48–27 behind Brock Purdy, who threw a career-high five touchdowns and owned the night from the opening drive. The crowd roared. The stakes sharpened. With that MNF statement, the NFL Playoffs picture shifted fast.
Brock Purdy didn’t chase the spotlight. He controlled it. The ball came out on time. The reads stayed clean. Touchdowns stacked up one by one as the Colts struggled to slow the tempo. It felt methodical, almost inevitable, the kind of rhythm usually reserved for vintage primetime performances. Even as George Kittle exited with an ankle injury and was listed questionable to return, the 49ers never lost their edge. The offense stayed aggressive. The defense fed off the lead. Monday night became more than a win. It became a signal.
According to The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov, that signal now carries major postseason weight. The 49ers will clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed by winning their final two games. No tiebreaker chaos, no outside help. Just execution. Both games will be played at home, where the 49ers have been at its sharpest all season.
The 49ers path to the top seed
Week 17 brings the Chicago Bears, who enter at 11–4 and already locked into the NFL playoffs. Then Week 18 closes with the Seattle Seahawks at 12–3, also playoff-bound and fully capable of testing focus. As a result, neither matchup offers comfort. Instead, both demand discipline and precision.
Even so, the advantage is real. Two home games. A quarterback playing with complete command. More importantly, a team riding a five-game winning streak and peaking at the right time. That MNF dismantling of the Colts showed what this version of the 49ers looks like when everything aligns. Now, two wins stand between San Francisco and full control after that primetime statement. With momentum surging and the path clear, who’s stopping the 49ers now?