Indianapolis » San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith was steady in his first start in almost two years. But it wasn't enough to stop Indianapolis from winning its 16th consecutive regular-season game.

With Peyton Manning out of sync and the offense struggling to score touchdowns Sunday, the Colts turned to a former quarterback -- Joseph Addai -- for a 22-yard TD pass that gave Indy an 18-14 victory.

The 49ers have now lost three straight despite getting a solid performance from Smith, who was 19-for-32 for 198 yards with one TD and one interception. The former University of Utah star was sacked four times behind a makeshift offensive line that may have sustained another devastating blow when left tackle Joe Staley went down on the first play of the game.

Yet thanks to Smith's steadiness, Frank Gore's long run and the continual contributions of Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, the 49ers controlled the game for most of three quarters.

"A couple dropped balls make the difference in a game like this," 49ers coach Mike Singletary said. "Any missed opportunities in a game like this are going to bite you in the end. The only thing I can say is we came here to win the football game."

This week's game tapes will show the Colts how imperfect they really are.

"We need these games if we're going to push toward our goal, which is the Super Bowl," receiver Reggie Wayne said. "We're going to need these close games, we're going to need to fight through a little adversity and push forward. We were able to do that today. It was a grinder. We figured out a way to win."