Stampede Blue
I didn’t think I would be doing a Philip Rivers breakdown this season, but here we are!
Let’s go play by play and review how he did in his return to the NFL after being retired for 5 years. Below are all his pass attempts from the game, which can be watched directly on Youtube.
Play 1 – Deep Pass Incomplete to Jonathan Taylor
This was one of his weaker throws of the game. A happy feet panicky throw in the pocket and he throws up a prayer one on one. It actually could’ve been caught by Taylor, but 50/50 wobbler to a running back 25 yards down the field isn’t ideal.
Play 2 – Quick Hitter Completion to Pittman
It might’ve looked ugly, but Rivers got the ball out super quickly and that’s all that matters. It’s also worth noting that screen passes are surprisingly tricky to operate as a quarterback needs to receive the snap and get the ball out within a second so oftentimes the quarterback is misaligned when making the throw which could impact the ball placement. In this case, Rivers does a nice job of getting it out quickly and accurately.
Play 3 – Incomplete Intermediate Pass to Warren
This was a nice throw under pressure. It was thrown to a spot where only Warren could get it and it does hit his hands, although it’s a tough one to bring in. No one was open, especially to that side of the field, so the throw to Warren was the correct read.
Play 4 – Incomplete Pass Over the middle to Warren
This was a poor decision. Pittman was crossing underneath and was wide open and would’ve easily gotten the first down. Instead he forces a tight throw to Warren in between a few different defenders and despite it being accurate, Warren gets lit up. This was a poor choice on his end.
Play 5 – Throw Away to Abdullah
This was a designed bubble that was completely taken away by the Seahawks and Rivers smartly throws it away.
Play 6 – Short completion to Abdullah
This was a nifty little throw to Abdullah that was thrown in stride to him and he picks up the first down because of it.
Play 7 – Short completion to Pittman in flats
While you can see the arm being weak on this throw, he makes the right read and Pittman makes a nice catch on the play to get the first down.
Play 8 – Incomplete intermediate throw to Pittman
Everyone was covered on this play with Pierce jammed up and Taylor covered underneath so Rivers threw a back shoulder ball to Pittman but the ball was off the mark and Pittman didn’t get his head around early enough to adjust to the ball.
Play 9 – Completion to Warren on the out
This was one of Rivers’ best throws of the game. Warren was covered pretty well on...
