Top 5 standouts from 49ers’ 23-17 preseason loss to Colts

The San Francisco 49ers wrapped up their third preseason game of 2018, losing 23-17 to the Indianapolis Colts. Yet there were some notable standout players, and here are the biggest five from Saturday.

The San Francisco 49ers may have lost in Week 3 of the 2018 preseason, falling to the Indianapolis Colts in both teams’ dress rehearsal for the regular season.

But the 23-17 defeat doesn’t tell the whole story. And that’s not what preseason games are for anyway.

One of the important factors is the Niners’ first-team offense dominated the first half of action. Overall, head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad outgained the Colts 390 total yards to 349, and most of Indy’s yardage came in the second half from its own second stringers.

If there was one glaring problem for San Francisco, however, it was within the red zone. Shanahan’s starters were 0-of-3 within on red-zone drives Saturday, which is a trend one won’t want to see in the regular season.

Despite this, there were more than a few positives from the game.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo had some up-and-down moments. His 9-of-19 line doesn’t tell the whole story, as his efforts were beset by a number of key drops, two of which (tight ends Garrett Celek and Cole Hikutini) were in the red zone. And while Garoppolo managed to effectively move the ball through the air, he also nearly committed two turnovers on back-to-back passes intended for wide receiver Trent Taylor that were nearly picked off.

Garoppolo won’t be listed as one of the Niners’ five top performers from the game. Don’t worry, though. It’s pretty safe to assume he makes the 53-man roster when the regular season rolls around next month.

But who were some other key standouts? Let’s take a look at the top five.