The Indianapolis Colts had trouble moving their offense against the San Francisco 49ers except when the refs gave them some help.
Sunday Night Football was not an exhibition for offenses in the NFL.
The weather in Santa Clara was far from ideal, with the Colts and 49ers fumbling losing two fumbles each.
Carson Wentz had a hard time getting Indianapolis’ offense going given the conditions, but he did have one tried and true method for getting the ball downfield — Pass interference penalties.
Here’s a stat compiled by NFL Research that shows how important yellow flags were to the Colts offense: “Through 3 quarters on #SundayNightFootball, the Colts gained 73 yards on Carson Wentz completions … and 97 yards on defensive pass interference calls against the 49ers.”
The Colts had nearly as many yards on penalties as passing
Give credit to Wentz and his receivers. If the opposing defense is going to commit penalties on jump balls, you might as well chuck it up and take advantage. That’s what the quarterback did, even if some of those attempts were underthrown. When they were, receivers like Michael Pittman forced 49ers defensive backs into backbreaking mistakes.
In fact, Pittman later proved exactly why corners end up being so physical with him. He caught a 28-yard touchdown over the defender to put the game away for Indianapolis.
San Francisco had seven penalties for 122 yards at the two-minute warning. Needless to say, it was not their night.
Wentz finished with 150 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side, Jimmy Garoppoli managed 181 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.