Philip Rivers beaten in shock NFL return with Indianapolis Colts at age of 44
Philip Rivers insisted his primary emotions were 'disappointment' after he and the Indianapolis Colts were beaten by the Seattle Seahawks with a last-second field goal from Jason Myers; Rivers made a sensational return to the NFL aged 44 this week having not played in 1,800 days.
Monday 15 December 2025 07:13, UK
For just a moment, Philip Rivers was on the brink of a crowning moment to his staggering NFL comeback. But it wasn't to be for the 44-year-old, who came out of retirement after five years with the Indianapolis Colts this week.Â
In his prime, Rivers and two-minute drills became somewhat synonymous. Here was another, with an opportunity to take down the Super Bowl-chasing Seattle Seahawks.
Trailing 15-13, Rivers and the Colts just about etched their way into field goal range before seeing Blake Grupe split the posts with a 60-yard kick to hand Indianapolis a one-point lead with 47 seconds left.
That was still enough time for Sam Darnold to march Seattle downfield and tee up Jason Myers' game-winning 56-yard field goal to break the hearts of Colts fans and nostalgia lovers.
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"I'm grateful that I was out there, and it was a blast," Rivers said. "But, obviously, the emotions now are disappointment. This isn't about me.
"We've got a team that was scrapping like crazy to try to stay alive and get in the postseason, so obviously, we're all disappointed.
"We came up just short."
The Colts fell 18-16 in their fourth consecutive defeat and fifth in the last six amid an unravelling campaign that has seen them race to a 7-1 start as unlikely contenders before since being left to face the prospect of missing out on the playoffs altogether.
Rivers had been the story of the week, signing with the Colts practice squad on Tuesday in light of the news that Daniel Jones would miss the remainder of the campaign through an Achilles injury.
It was later confirmed he would start Sunday's game in his first NFL outing since retiring at the end of the 2020 campaign, which he spent with the Colts after 16 seasons with the Chargers. Rivers has been serving as head coach of the St Michael Catholic High School football team in Alabama.
"Maybe it will inspire or teach them not to run or be scared of what may or may not happen," Rivers said. "Hopefully, certainly, I think of my sons and those ballplayers that I'm in charge of at the school, that they'll see, 'C**p, Coach wasn't scared.' There is doubt, and it's real, and again, the guaranteed safe bet is to not go for it. The other one is 'Shoot, let's see what happens.'"
Rivers finished the game 18 of 27 passing for 120 yards, a touchdown pass to Josh Downs and an interception, while Lou Anarumo's defense had thwarted Darnold and the Seahawks attack for large chunks of the game.
"If I can stay healthy, I feel good, and it is going to get better as we go," said Rivers. "But the catch is that we've got to win. It doesn't really matter if it's getting better as we go if we don't win, because it's going to be over in three weeks. So that's the catch there.
"But it's going to continue to get better. I mean, this is obviously the first one, we're talking about three days of practice."
He welcomed his return to the firing line, admitting he had missed the big hits.
"I've never minded that part of it," he said. "My wife always tells me I'm crazy because there's been times in the last three or four years I said, 'I wish I could just throw one and get hit hard.' She's like, 'That's not normal.'"
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