INDIANAPOLIS — A Colts pass rush that kept posting better numbers than its play in the first half of the season has come crashing back to earth.

Indianapolis has just four sacks and 11 quarterback hits in its last four games, largely leaving an injury-depleted secondary with little help on passing downs.

The Colts sacked 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy only once, a Laiatu Latu strip sack that bounced into the hands of San Francisco tight end Luke Farrell, negating any potential for the big, game-changing play the Indianapolis defense desperately needed on Monday night and couldn’t get until it was too late.

“Well, I think that’s where we’re not winning,” Indianapolis defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. “I think that when we do get those opportunities to get in those situations where we can get on an edge, win one-on-one, we feel like we’ve got to do a better job.”

The pass rush has been so bad that the Colts may start blitzing more heavily in an effort to get more pressure on the quarterback.

Anarumo has been careful about blitzing without corners Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward, largely preferring to give his young, unsettled cornerbacks more help. Indianapolis does rank 13th in the NFL in blitz rate, sending five or more rushers on 28% of the dropbacks it has faced, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats.

The Colts have struggled so much to create pressure that Anarumo may need to dial it up even further.

“Looking back at it this morning, obviously, just finding ways to create that pass rush, whether it is with the four-man rush, five-man rush, six-man rush, getting home, getting pressure on the quarterback,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “Finding ways to do that better going forward is going to be, obviously critical for us.”

The truth is Indianapolis simply hasn’t gotten enough pressure from its edge rushers.

Latu leads the Colts with 7.5 sacks, but his production has been spotty. Drafted in the first round in 2024, Latu is the player Indianapolis believed would take a step this season, and although his 52 pressures place him in the top 20 in the NFL, he does not win immediately at the snap often. Latu has nine “quick” quarterback pressures this season — defined by the NFL as a pressure in three seconds or less — tying him for 75th among NFL pass rushers.

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who missed five games with a herniated disc in his neck, still leads Indianapolis with 12 “quick” pressures.

Outside of Buckner, the Colts do not have another rusher who consistently commands attention.

“You see the edge guys, at times, will get chipped,” Anarumo said. “Latu gets some extra attention in that regard. They’ll put a tight end over there or send the back and chip him on the way out. So, I think he’s the one that’s garnered some of that.”

Indianapolis has largely gotten good seasons from its defensive tackles, although Buckner’s absence looms large.

The same cannot be said for the defensive ends. Latu’s 7.5 sacks and 17 quarterback hits lead the team, but even after a five-game layoff, Buckner ranks second with four sacks and 13 quarterback hits.

No other Colt has more than eight quarterback hits, leaving opposing passers to stand comfortably in the pocket, waiting to take advantage of an injury-depleted group of cornerbacks.

San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy averaged 3.31 seconds from snap to throw on Monday night, the second-longest mark in the entire NFL.

And Indianapolis still couldn’t find a way to hit him.

“We’ve got to look into that,” Steichen said. “Obviously, we’ve got to win one-on-one matchups as we get going every game. That’s it. This game is about one-on-ones and winning the game within the game, and keep working those pass rush stuff in practice so they can come to life on Sundays and Monday nights.”

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.