INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Quarterback Philip Rivers came out of retirement seeking to lead the Indianapolis Colts to the playoffs.
Two games into his comeback, their postseason hopes barely exist.
While the 44-year-old grandfather gave the home fans plenty to cheer about in the first 3 1/2 quarters, San Francisco linebacker Dee Winter made Rivers pay for a late miscue by returning an interception 74 yards for a touchdown with 3:26 to play to seal a 48-27 victory — and perhaps the Colts’ postseason fate.
“There’s no prize for losing,” Rivers said. “I know this locker room is hurting again. I’ve been part of it for a short time, two losses, and I know it’s been a long slide now for over a month. I know that’s tough because I’ve been part of those slides. We’ve just got to find a way to dig deep and find a way to win a football game.”
Rivers looked much more like his younger self Monday night after a full week of practice.
He led the Colts (8-7) to a score on their first possession, routinely marched Indy down the field, tested the 49ers secondary immediately with a deep pass on the first offensive play of the game and even got back to his trash-talking ways.
Rivers went 23 of 35 with 277 yards and two TD passes despite playing behind an offensive line that started the game without either of its starting tackles, then lost starting center Tanor Bortolini just three plays into the game.
The bigger problem was a defense that allowed 440 total yards and never forced a punt as Indy lost for the first time all season when topping the 20-point mark.
But Rivers wasn’t assessing blame in a game he found himself trying to evade a group of young, hungry players eager to make an impression on the star quarterback they grew up watching.
“Playing against him didn’t seem real,” Winters said. “To be able to get a Pick-6 off of him, all I heard was my heartbeat and my adrenaline was running.”
Still, Rivers settled into a good rhythm against a Niners defense that expected to see the same run-first approach with the smattering of quick-hitting throws Rivers unleashed last week at Seattle.
Instead, he repeatedly found Josh Downs, who had five catches for 65 yards, early and later hooked up with Alec Pierce four times for 86 yards and two TDs. Neither player was with the Colts when Rivers last made a start at Lucas Oil Stadium in January 2021.
“I thought he played really good except that one play at the end,” coach Shane Steichen said. “But I thought he was on fire the whole game. He threw it to the right spots every time. He just had that one play at the end, but overall I thought he was really good.”
But with the Colts chasing late in the fourth, Rivers also fumbled the ball when he was sacked. Then the errant throw ended Indy’s chance in this game — and left only a small one for the postseason.
“The name of the game is winning and that’s what they did. They got it done,” Rivers said. “But I do feel like offensively we’re going to move the ball. But our job is to score more points than the other team, whatever that (number) may be. Last week, it was 18 and we didn’t get it done. This week, it would have been 41 if I hadn’t thrown the Pick-6 and we didn’t get it done.”
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