Philip Rivers has made the postgame walk to answer tough questions dozens of times over his previous 17 NFL seasons.
This time seemed different.
With the Indianapolis Colts having been eliminated from the postseason for a fifth consecutive year even before Rivers and his teammates took the field Sunday, the 44-year-old Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist knows he may have taken his last snap.
“It’s been an absolute blast for three weeks and if I go back now and said, ‘All right, now you know everything that’s going to happen, what are you going to do? I’d do it all again,’” Rivers said after the Colts lost 23-17 to Jacksonville.
“So, yeah, if it’s the last one, it’s the last one. I thought the last one was walking off the field in Buffalo (in January 2021), walking up that tunnel and I was fine with that. I had tears those few days after that, and I was at peace with that being the last one. So, certainly, if it is (the last one), I got three more bonus games that I never saw coming.”
Rivers provided two elements the Colts (8-8) needed when they brought him out of a five-year retirement. His passion energized the locker room after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon, and he gave the Colts a chance to pull themselves out of a historic second-half swoon in which they became just the sixth team since 1970 — and the first in 30 years — to start 8-2 and miss the playoffs.
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But Rivers has lost all three of his starts, with the Colts’ overall skid now at six games.
His late interception at Seattle ended the Colts’ bid for a miracle rally. And an interception Sunday on a tipped ball allowed the Jags (12-4) to kick the tiebreaking field goal with 6:58 to play.
While Rivers took accountability for both miscues with his typical down-home demeanor, he knows he’s not the face of the Colts’ future.
So with one meaningless game remaining next weekend at Houston, the Colts could give Rivers one more start, but it might make sense for them to take a look at Anthony Richardson — the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2023 — or rookie Riley Leonard. Richardson has not been activated from the injured reserve list but has started practicing.
“I’ll figure that out Tuesday,” coach Shane Steichen said.
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If Rivers’ profession is over, once more, 5 years after he left the primary time, he has no regrets.
He rented a spot in Indianapolis, moved his total household again to Indy for the ultimate month of the season and introduced dozens of gamers from St. Michael Catholic Excessive College in Fairhope, Alabama — the place he is the top coach — to Lucas Oil Stadium to look at his house finale.
In profession begin No. 423, Rivers surpassed Corridor of Famer Warren Moon because the fourth-oldest quarterback to begin within the NFL. Rivers performed at 44 years, 20 days; Moon was 44 years and eight days.
If he makes begin No. 424, Rivers would cross Vinny Testaverde — 44 years and 26 days — because the third oldest, trailing solely Steve DeBerg and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Rivers ranks sixth in league historical past in TD passes with 425 and is eighth on the profession yards passing checklist with 63,984 — simply behind Matthew Stafford and 105 yards away from transferring previous two-time Tremendous Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger.
Rivers is aware of he could not get that probability.
“I’m going to be on board and supportive of regardless of the group, Shane and whoever, nevertheless that call goes to return to be,” Rivers mentioned. “I’m positive I’ll have some dialog. It received’t simply be a blind-side Tuesday dialog for me. And I’m going to be on board to do what’s finest for the blokes.”
Reporting by The Related Press.
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