Things didn't start out too well for the 49ers defense in their 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night, but by the time the game was over, there were a few memorable highlights for multiple players on that side of the ball.

Leading the way in that regard was linebacker Dee Winters, who notched his first NFL interception in style with a game-sealing pick six. Also adding to the highlight reel were rookie defensive tackles Alfred Collins and C.J. West, who both earned their first NFL sacks in the game.


Those plays were part of a defensive effort that started slow in allowing Colts quarterback Philip Rivers to throw for over 170 yards and two touchdowns in the first half while completing multiple long conversions on third downs. But in the second half, the Colts were held to 10 points while star running back Jonathan Taylor was held to just 46 yards and one touchdown on the evening.

"I thought we played a little bit more man in the second half," head coach Kyle Shanahan said. "Rivers, you gotta slow down. He was hot, and then they made those big third downs which obviously you're going to get blown out if that keeps happening. And I thought in the second half we tightened up, played a little more man, did a real good job in that, made some stops in the red zone and they didn't run it a ton, but when they did run it we shut it down. So I was real proud of the guys with that."

We'll have some quotes from Winters, Collins and West in this quickie version of 49ers Notebook, plus we'll find out what wide receiver Jauan Jennings said about trolling a Colts fan in the stands after catching a touchdown. And we'll hear from Kyle Shanahan on why he didn't throw a challenge flag on a player where it appeared tight end Jake Tonges may have caught a touchdown. Without further ado...

Winters storm


It took 45 NFL games for linebacker Dee Winters to grab his first interception, but it's safe to say it's a moment he'll savor the rest of his life.

The interception came late in the fourth quarter with the Colts driving deep in 49ers territory. A touchdown on the drive would have cut the 49ers' lead to 41-34, but Winters stepped in front of a short pass from Philip Rivers and took it 74 yards the other way to seal the win for the 49ers.


"The drive previously, I kind of heard a check and they kind of ran a little spot route the same way they did on the interception," Winters said after the game. "And I kind of just heard the check (again) and I was like, 'Man, I'm just about to just try to trust my instincts right here and make a play.' And you know, it came up huge for us."*

The moment was surreal for Winters, who told reporters the interception "felt kind of fake."

"It felt like a movie, honestly," Winters said. "When I caught the ball, all I heard was my heart beating and I just saw the end zone. so I was like, 'Let's go score. Why not?'"

Making it more fun for Winters was the fact his interception came off the 44-year-old Rivers, who originally retired before Winters' NFL career even began. Weeks ago it wouldn't have been imaginable for Winters that his first interception would come off Rivers, but he got the chance after Rivers left retirement to join the Colts following a season-ending injury to Daniel Jones.


"Yeah, it was crazy," Winters said. "Just watching him play football growing up and then obviously getting to play against him and have a pick six against him was huge. So, I'm definitely grateful for that and appreciate him for coming up and speaking with me."


(* Winters wasn't the only one to spot what the Colts were about to do on that play. Former NFL linebacker Luke Kuechly did as well, calling out the play in advance during a broadcast.)

Rookies have their moment


While Winters couldn't have imagined picking off Rivers just two weeks ago, the same could be said for rookie defensive tackles Alfred Collins and C.J. West getting their first career sacks on the likely future Hall of Fame quarterback. For Collins, his sack also caused a fumble and pushed the Colts into a hole that eventually forced them to punt from deep in their own territory.


"It was awesome, for real," Collins said Monday night. "I grew up watching (Rivers), and he's a great quarterback. It was just a blessing to be on the same field as him."

Collins didn't recall much about his sack, saying, "I kind of blacked out, but I was just very happy I was able to do that for my team. First of many."

West's sack came earlier in the game and was unique in its own right because it came just miles down the road from where he played his college ball at Indiana University.


"It means a lot because I put in so much hard work, and just to be able to show the world what I really can do and to be able to sack a future hall of famer, man, it's just legendary," West told 49ers.com after the game.

Collins seemed just as excited about West's sack as he did his own.

"That's my dawg, you know what I'm saying? Seeing everybody else get to do their thing, it makes me happy," Collins said. "I've seen the journey. We're just getting started. First of many for both of us."

Not too Christmasy of him


Jauan Jennings wasn't in a giving mood Monday night, at least not when it came to Colts fans.

Following his touchdown catch in the third quarter, Jennings approached the stands and appeared set to hand the ball to a fan. But at the last second, he pulled the ball away and kept it, much to that fan's dismay.



Jennings was asked about that move after the game and showed zero remorse for trolling the fan.

"It felt kind of right to do," Jennings said. "She didn't have on any 49er gear, so that's what she got."

The touchdown that wasn't


Running back Christian McCaffrey added two more touchdown catches to his season total Monday night, but one of those catches probably shouldn't have happened.

That's because tight end Jake Tonges appeared to have caught a touchdown on the play before McCaffrey scored. But Tonges' catch was ruled incomplete.


Why didn't Kyle Shanahan challenge the ruling on that play? Part of it was due to a poor challenge call he made earlier in the game that went the wrong way. But he also said Brock Purdy started the next play before he got the chance to decide.


"I did consider it," Shanahan said. "But I was a little reluctant off the information I got earlier on one. And I was thinking about it and no, I still don't know what I was going to do. I was thinking about it right on the line. I didn't know Brock was going to go quick count, so he went quick count so I didn't get to make that decision. And I quickly when I saw he scored, I was glad that I didn't. But then they told me that he scored, so I'm sure Jake's upset with me, but it ended up alright anyway."

The missed Tonges call set up a 3rd-and-9, but Purdy was able to complete a pass to McCaffrey for a touchdown on the next play to make the Tonges mistake obsolete. It also gave Purdy his fifth touchdown pass of the game, setting a new career high.

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