Stampede Blue
The NFL world was understandably caught up in the Philip Rivers returns saga this past week. Coming out of retirement after five years away warrants being the storyline of the week — or in this case, the remainder of the season — and all of the hype surrounding it was valid.
While he undoubtedly had to dust off some cobwebs, Philip Rivers largely remained the same player we saw walk off the field ’for good’ following the Colts’ Wild Card playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills in 2020-21.
In his first half back versus the Seattle Seahawks, aka the NFL’s 2nd-best scoring defense (17.4 PPG allowed) entering Week 15, Philip Rivers did his thing to help the Colts maintain a 13-6 lead going into the half. Here’s how he fared against the Seahawks in his first half of NFL football in half a decade:
10-16 (62.5%), 81 passing yards (5.1 avg), 1 passing TD, sacked once, 96.1 Passer Rating
He certainly doesn’t look like himself physically, but has remained as cerebral as ever. It’s evident that the game is as slow as it used to be for Rivers, as he’s only seen a handful of expected mishaps thus far. As anticipated, there’s little to no zip on his throws, but his and head coach Shane Steichen’s collective mind has turned in a respectable first half outing.
From screens to crossing routes, Shane Steichen is setting his veteran, older brother-esque quarterback up for success, and Grandpa Phil has, for the most part, gotten the job done. Philip Rivers’s return to quarterbacking has indeed been like riding a bike (mentally), but is it enough to go the distance?
