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Sometimes the “why” behind a comeback matters as much as the throws. Philip Rivers’ return at 44 isn’t just about salvaging a battered Colts season; it also restarts the clock on NFL health benefits for his wife and their 10 kids, a very real perk for a family that size even with his career earnings.
Now the football question is getting louder. Is Shane Steichen really going to ride with Rivers over Anthony Richardson the rest of the way? ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano dug into the leaguewide buzz after Rivers’ first start in five years, and the consensus was basically, he looked as good as you could reasonably expect.
One NFL offensive coach told Fowler Rivers “played about as well as he could have,” and that ceiling still came out to 120 passing yards, with Rivers having to strain for it and the ball not exactly jumping off his right hand.
That said, the Colts didn’t sign him for fireworks. Fowler noted that Rivers ran a clean operation against an elite Seahawks defense on the road, got Indianapolis into the right looks, changed protections, and hit a few timely throws when pressure closed in.
The catch is obvious, driving it downfield will be a grind, and Fowler wondered how Rivers would hold up physically with back-to-back games.
Graziano wasn’t buying a playoff push, mostly because of how the teams in front of Indy are playing. He said the Jaguars and Texans have looked considerably better late in the year, and even if the Colts “run the table,” they still need help, plus they’ve got to beat the 49ers and then handle head-to-head matchups with Jacksonville and Houston.
The human element is Richardson. Fowler wrote the Colts know an eye injury robbed him of a month that could’ve been a career springboard, with a team source bluntly saying, “It sucks.”
In the background, the noise around Richardson isn’t going away either. Shannon Sharpe ripped him for “tapping” out and said the Colts look “so over him,” while Chad Ochocinco pointed to the Daniel Jones one-year deal as a sign of where the organization’s head might be.
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