Tom Krasovic: All things considered, Philip Rivers put on a show to remember in NFL return

Tom Krasovic, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Dec 18, 2025

Published in Football

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SAN DIEGO — The best part of grandpa Philip Rivers’ return to the NFL at age 44 came when Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald sought out the Indianapolis Colts quarterback Sunday after Seattle’s 18-16 home-field victory as a 13.5-point favorite.

“Great game plan,” said the coach. “You had us on tilt.”

A pinball machine pushed off balance was the perfect metaphor, conjuring an old-time arcade and a slick operator.

The most old-timey quarterback of not only this era but perhaps the previous one or two, Rivers matched wits with the NFC’s best defense well enough that his sun-dial footspeed and iffy arm strength didn’t spell doom.

He threw a touchdown pass, got the team out of bad plays by managing the chess match and never turned the ball over until a desperate heave in the final seconds.

In one of the league’s noisiest environments, Rivers used his hard-earned NFL wisdom and ultra-quick throwing release to parry a shrewd defense that overwhelmed a Vikings rookie quarterback in its previous home game, a 26-0 victory fueled by four interceptions and four sacks.

Rivers’ almost five years between NFL games had raised concerns among some NFL players past and present. Instead of producing an inspiring chapter to this NFL season, the comeback could end in a horrid injury, they implied.

Rivers didn’t dispute those concerns, saying he shared them, if vaguely.

“There is doubt, and it’s real,” he said after the game, his voice strained.

As Rivers trotted onto the field, wearing the same No. 17 from his days with the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Chargers and his lone season with the Colts in 2020, former NFL linebacker Dave Wyman admitted to some trepidation.

A color analyst on Seahawks radio broadcasts, Wyman lightly wondered if Rivers might “expire on the field,” yet also mused that Rivers might “light us up.”

Former NFL quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan, watching a few plays on his phone in San Diego, became alarmed when he saw Rivers slip and fall while dropping back.

“I’m not going to lie: I was a little nervous. I just wanted him to get through this healthy,” O’Sullivan said Monday.

Rivers ended up taking four hits, a low number. One was a sack due to his slipping and falling on the Seahawks’ logo at midfield.

By bobbling a high snap, Rivers ended up taking a hard double-blow.

For the most part, Rivers and Shane Steichen, a friend and former Chargers colleague who is the Colts’ head coach and playcaller, kept the Seahawks from dominating as they often do.

A heavy diet of short passes and varied rushes by star running back Jonathan Taylor behind a forceful line protected Rivers, who wore a bulky vest for added cushion.

In his breakdown of the coaches’ film, O’Sullivan gave Rivers high marks for his pre-snap reads and adjustments, a perfect back-shoulder throw that led to a go-ahead field goal in the final minute and several smart short passes that he said recalled NBA point guard John Stockton’s decision-making.

O’Sullivan pointed out miscues, too.

The biggest one: Rivers underthrew Josh Downs for an incompletion after he’d come open on a well-timed double-move. It might have gone for a touchdown.

“Overall, you’ve gotta be pretty proud of Philip,” said O’Sullivan, who allowed me to quote from his comments to subscribers of The QB School, his website.

“Pretty sweet from Phil,” he said. “I don’t think anyone would classify that as a spectacular game. But, you talk about coming off the couch, being a grandpa, not playing for (five) years.

“Beyond serviceable.”

O’Sullivan found fault in Colts receiver Michael Pittman’s route on one key play, calling it “bizarro ball” that he sees too often from Pittman. The analyst lauded Seattle’s disguises and opportunist attacks, saying the defense’s lack of movement in response to Colts players in motion showed savvy and sharp communication.

The ex-QB said Rivers seemed to shuffle more on five-step drops than he did five years ago.

“That shot put,” he said of one throw, “just looks a little heavier than it used to.

“He still gets it out quick.”

The most dramatic outcome would’ve been a Colts victory, followed by additional wins that would’ve matched the Rivers and friends against the Chargers — whom he never faced in his lone season with Indy — with a Super Bowl berth on the line next month.

At that point, Disney would’ve authorized a movie, casting Will Ferrell as Rivers.

Considering that a week before Rivers faced the Seahawks, he was in Fairhope, Ala., content with his life, as he put it, it was still a show to remember.