Philip Rivers was competent on Sunday but not much more in his first NFL game since the 2020 season.
The result was an 18-16 Seattle Seahawks win as Rivers’ Indianapolis Colts fell excruciatingly short of an upset in Rivers’ return to football.
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Rivers led the Colts on a go-ahead field-goal drive with 42 seconds remaining in regulation. But the Seahawks started with a short field on their next possession thanks to a kick return to the 37-yard line. They needed just 25 yards to get into field-goal position for Jason Myers. And Myers delivered from 57 yards with his sixth field goal of the day to retake the lead for Seattle.
The Colts had one last desperation shot with the ball back and 18 seconds remaining. But Rivers’ downfield pass to Michael Pittman was intercepted by Coby Bryant. And the Seattle offense took the field one last time to kneel down on a victory.
Rivers plays mostly mistake free, runs game script
The interception was the first of the day for Rivers, who largely surprised with capable quarterback play in his first game back in the NFL at 44 years old. For the day, Rivers completed 18 of 27 passes for 120 yards with 1 touchdown, 1 interception and 2 sacks taken.
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With the win, the Seahawks improved to 11-3 ahead of a collision next week with the Los Angeles Rams that could determine the winner of the NFC West. The Colts fall to 8-6 and remain on the outside of the playoff picture.
Philip Rivers proved capable on Sunday if not particularly effective.
(Steph Chambers via Getty Images)
Why is Philip Rivers playing?
Rivers stunned the NFL this week with his return. The Colts were desperate at quarterback after a season-ending Achilles tear for starter Daniel Jones left them in limbo at the position. Backup Riley Leonard was also dealing a knee injury, and former first-round pick Anthony Richardson remains sidelined with an orbital fracture.
So the Colts called up Rivers, who last played in the NFL for Indianapolis in the 2020 season. Nearly five years removed from what was thought to be his retirement, Rivers kept in good enough shape to answer the Colts’ call and step onto an NFL field on Sunday.
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He largely delivered above expectations, but not a win.
Rivers recovers from slow start to put Colts on top
Rivers got off to a slow start as the Colts made clear that they were running a conservative offense with the 44-year-old at the helm.
Rivers completed just three of his first nine passes as the Colts repeatedly handed off to Jonathan Taylor en route to 16 first-half carries for the All-Pro running back. And when he threw, his passes were rarely downfield on a day where Indianapolis completed just two deep passes for first downs. The plan was good enough to produce two field goals in the Colts’ first three drives.
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Then Rivers found his rhythm on the Colts’ fourth possession. He hit a downfield pass in traffic to tight end Tyler Warren for a 17-yard gain and a first down that was the longest play of the day by either team up to that point.
Rivers’ next pass found Josh Downs for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Colts a 13-6 lead late in the first half. It was also his seventh consecutive completion to up his first-half tally to 10-of-16 for 81 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
The conservative game script was running to plan thanks to a Colts defense that repeatedly stifled a Seahawks offense that entered Sunday averaging 29.8 points per game.
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Colts slow down after halftime
But a conservative Colts offense turned stagnant in the second half. Indianapolis punted on three consecutive possessions to start the half that tallied just 41 yards.
The Indianapolis defense continued to fluster the Seahawks and keep them out of the end zone. But drives that didn’t end in touchdowns repeatedly concluded with field goals by Myers. And Myers’ fifth field goal of the day gave the Seahawks their first lead at 15-13 with 2:27 remaining.
Rivers leads go-ahead drive that doesn’t hold up
That field goal set up Rivers to play the hero in his first game back. And he nearly was, alongside Colts kicker Blake Grupe.
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With the game on the line, Rivers delivered a pinpoint back-shoulder pass to Alec Pierce on the sideline on third-and-7 that gained 16 yards and a first down near midfield.
Maintaining their conservative game plan, the Colts then declined to pass on the ensuing third-and-7 and instead handed off to Taylor to try to set up a closer field goal. Taylor gained 4 yards to set up Grupe for a 60-yard attempt.
Grupe delivered with the longest field goal of his career to give the Colts a 16-15 lead.
But the Indianapolis elation was short-lived.
Jason Myers delivers again
A Seattle kickoff return to the 37-yard line meant a short field to give Myers a chance to win the game. And Myers delivered from 56 yards for a go-ahead field goal with 18 seconds remaining.
The Colts had one last desperation attempt that ended with a Bryant interception of Rivers to seal the Seattle win.
The Seahawks will now face the fellow 11-3 Rams on Thursday with the lead in the NFC West at stake.
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What’s next for Colts, Rivers as they fight for playoffs?
The Colts will move forward with more questions about who will play quarterback as they look to rally to the right side of the playoff picture with tough remaining games against the 49ers, Jaguars and Texans, who are all on the right side of the playoff picture.
It’s not clear if Rivers will be the starter again next week or beyond. But it does appear that he’s capable of continuing to play NFL football if the Colts need to call on him again. Whether that’s good enough to deliver Indianapolis to wins is another question.
