Sports: Raiders lose 30-17 in third consecutive defeat and 49ers lose in overtime to remain winless for the season.
Winless: Stirring comeback precedes OT loss; Bowman, Hyde lose some playing time
INDIANAPOLIS >> Linebacker NaVorro Bowman stood in a nearempty 49ers locker room and struggled to hide his dismay after another lost Sunday.
As the 49ers fell to 0-5 and lost back-to-back overtime games for the first time in their history, Bowman lost playing time in the process, as did running back Carlos Hyde.
“They’re doing what they want to do and, I don’t know. I don’t like it,” Bowman said after the 26-23 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts. “No one likes coming out of the game, but I’m a team player.”
Hyde echoed that stance, say-
ing: “I don’t like it, but my boy Matt (Breida) is a good back and did a good job in there making plays.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan showed he’s willing to try almost anything — but not a quarterback change — in a maddening search for his first win.
The 49ers had never lost three straight games by three points or less until last week, and now they’ve done it four games in a row.
Adam Vinatieri’s 51-yard field goal lifted the Colts (2-3) with 1:38 remaining in overtime.
“We could have won all four of these games and we’ve come up short,” Shanahan said.
“As a head coach, it starts with me. We had opportunities there and didn’t get it done, again.”
The 49ers play their third consecutive road game next Sunday at Washington, where it will be interesting to see if President Donald Trump swings by to mimic what Vice President Mike Pence did this game.
Pence left Lucas Oil Stadium once 23 of the 49ers knelt during the anthem, and Trump said he asked Pence to leave in response to the “disrespectful” demonstration. Bowman and Hyde left the field for the bench on a few occasions but did play in crucial series late in the game.
But it was alarming to see arguably the 49ers’ two most proven playmakers idly stand on the sideline during yet another tight ballgame.
On Bowman, Shanahan cited how Bowman overcame a neck stinger at one point but came out a couple series, as planned, “just to make sure to keep him fresh.”
Bowman had a teamhigh 10 tackles, and he didn’t seem to approve of Shanahan’s rationale, saying: “I don’t know.”
As for Hyde, Shanahan said: “Really, we’ve got three backs that are up and try to give them all carries and we go with the hot hand. We felt Breida was the hot hand at the time.”
Breida, an undrafted rookie, had 10 carries for 49 yards (career highs) in relief of Hyde, who had eight carries for only 11 yards. Raheem Mostert had one carry, for 3 yards.
Breida and Hyde both saw action on a game-tying touchdown drive that covered 89 yards and finished on George Kittle’s 5-yard touchdown catch with 20 seconds to force overtime.
After losing 18-15 in overtime last Sunday at Arizona, Shanahan said he did not consider going for a two-point conversion this game, instead opting for Robbie Gould to nail the point-after kick for a 2323 tie.
Ray-Ray Armstrong’s interception at the 49ers goal line midway through overtime delayed their defeat, and that came after a fourth-quarter comeback produced two touchdown passes from Brian Hoyer in the final eight minutes.
Key impressions
FOURTH-QUARTER SUCCESS
>> The 49ers scored their first two touchdowns on the road this season, but they waited until the final eight minutes of regulation to do so.
“It’s frustrating that it takes us until the fourth quarter to get going offensively,” left tackle Joe Staley said.
“We had two drives backto-back we were able to do what we wanted. We’re so close in the running game. There were a couple times there where we were one shoestring tackle away from breaking an 80-yarder.”
The 49ers pulled within 23-16 when they scored their first touchdown in three road games: a 6-yard shovel pass from Hoyer to Kyle Jusczcyk.
KITTLE BREAKS OUT >> Kittle had seven catches for 83 yards, and remarkably five of those receptions came on the tying touchdown drive to force overtime.
Kittle had a potential touchdown catch go through his hands on a diving attempt on the first series. But oh how he rebounded.
He had five receptions for 73 yards on that last drive of regulation, with a 28-yarder to open it and a fourth-and-goal, 5-yard snag to end it. A gutsty, fourth-and-1 call produced a 19-yard catch by a leaping Kittle at the Colts 21-yard line.
PASS RUSH VANISHES >> The 49ers couldn’t get to Jacoby Brissett in overtime. Earlier, the 49ers got encouraging effort to keep the game close. Elvis Dumervil had 1½ sacks while a halfsack was awarded to DeForest Buckner, Jaquiski Tartt, Arik Armstead, Xavier Cooper and Brock Coyle.
Key players
49ERS QB BRIAN HOYER >> Shanahan thought Hoyer played better than last week, and he had a solid state line: 29-of-46 for 353 yards with the two fourthquarter touchdowns. He had no interceptions for the first time in a 49ers uniform.
COLTS RB FRANK GORE >> A 23-yard catch-and-run set up a Colts scoring drive late in the third quarter. He had 48 yards on his first 12 carries, plus 38 yards on three catches.
He also fumbled a direct snap from the 12-yard line for an 8-yard loss.
49ERS K ROBBIE GOULD >> He made all three of his fieldgoal attempts and is the first 49ers kicker to make his first 14 attempts in a season. He’s now made 31 consecutive attempts dating back to 2015.
The Colts called timeout just before he clanked a 43yard field-goal attempt off the right upright, and he made good on his actual attempt.