Everything is quite feelgood around the San Francisco 49ers right now.
Thanks to the chaos in Detroit between the Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers the previous Sunday, the Niners were already in the playoffs by the time they headed to Indianapolis to face the Colts on Monday Night Football, and they kept the good times rolling with what ended up being a 48-27 blowout.
There was much to be positive about, with quarterback Brock Purdy firing the offense to great heights, aided and abetted by the usual suspects like tight end George Kittle and running back Christian McCaffrey, while the special teams unit continued its astonishing resurgence under Brant Boyer, including forcing an important turnover.
So, as usual, I guess it falls on me to point out the negatives.
It's not that I'm not delighted by how the Niners are doing -- I had no expectations going into this season, especially after the roster turnover -- but there are some signs that it might be all over sooner rather than later. While the 49ers have beaten up on worse teams in the Titans and Colts in the past two weeks, there's bigger tests ahead, and it starts with the Chicago Bears next Sunday night.
There are some glaring problems that need fixing before then.
49ers must fix defensive issues Colts just exposed
The biggest concern going into Monday's game was probably the run defense, especially given its poor performance against the Titans and the talent the 49ers were facing in Jonathan Taylor. However, to their credit, the run defense showed up to play, with linebacker Tatum Bethune and safety Malik Mustapha being particularly active.
Eventually, San Francisco was able to hold the Colts in check, allowing only 56 yards on the ground.
That doesn't tell the full story, however. The Colts were largely able to abandon the run due to the success of their passing game. Yes, a 44-year old quarterback who literally came out of retirement two weeks ago, Philip Rivers, playing behind a patchwork offensive line (that lost its center, too, in the early goings), was able to shred the 49ers pass defense for almost 300 yards and two touchdowns.
The culprits were not the usual suspects either. Niners fans like to complain about the pass rush being an issue, and there's certainly an argument for Robert Saleh somehow being unable to scheme any pressure despite having linemen like Yetur Gross-Matos and Bryce Huff in the lineup.
But the bigger issue was, not for the first time this year, found on the back end of the defense.
With Renardo Green out, Darrell Luter Jr. had a testing night (and likely proved he's no NFL-calibre cornerback), while Deommodore Lenoir continued an up-and-down season with some odd plays and penalties. Sprinkle in the usual uneven safety play of Mustapha and Ji'Ayir Brown, and it was a recipe for the 49ers defense to struggle, like we've seen in recent losses to the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams.
Some of these symptoms even showed up in wins over the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans, too.
I feel I should point out for the sake of balance that the pass defense stiffened considerably after the halftime break, primarily thanks to a shift to more man coverage, turning what could've been a shootout into a relatively comfortable win. But there were still some head-scratching plays in coverage.
Green will hopefully be back for the season's run-in, but either way, he'll have to be part of a unit that improves. Both the Bears and Seattle Seahawks have better passing offenses than any team San Francisco has played of late, and to defeat them, the 49ers will need a lot more than the weaknesses and holes shown in their pass defense over the last couple of weeks, and most glaringly on Monday night.
The No. 1 seed might depend on it.