INDIANAPOLIS — The Philip Rivers experiment is not over.
Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen confirmed Monday that Rivers, newly unretired and fresh off his first game in five years, will remain the team’s starting quarterback for its Week 16 “Monday Night Football” matchup with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Colts fell 18-16 to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in Rivers’ first action since the 2020 season. He had a modest statistical performance, completing 18 of 27 passes for 120 yards. But Steichen lauded Rivers for his management of the game, which remains a driving force behind keeping him in the lineup.
“Him being off for that long, obviously, there was some unknown,” Steichen said. “But for him to go out there and do what he did to put us in a position to win, in a hostile environment, after that long of a layoff, was pretty impressive. Getting us into the right plays, managing the game. I thought he was phenomenal in that regard on the sidelines. His leadership — all those things that he brings to our team — will be beneficial for all of us.”
Another variable in the 44-year-old Rivers remaining the starter is his health. He took some forceful hits in the game, his first since his final NFL season. There was concern within the organization about how Rivers’ body would respond. But Rivers was back at Colts headquarters Monday and said he was doing just fine.
“He feels good,” Steichen said. “He’s in the quarterback room right now watching tape. He said he felt good. He said, ‘I got my normal bruises that I had when I played,’ but he said, ‘I feel pretty darn good.’ So, that was good for him to come out of the game clean.”
Though Steichen remains committed to Rivers, there is another quarterback wrinkle worth mentioning. Anthony Richardson Sr., the Colts’ 2023 first-round pick, is nearing a return to the practice field, Steichen said. Richardson has been on injured reserve since October after sustaining a fractured orbital bone near his right eye during a freak pregame warmup accident. The delicate nature of the injury has sidelined him ever since and made him unavailable after starter Daniel Jones‘ season-ending ruptured Achilles in Week 14.
But doctors have given Richardson the green light to ramp up his activity, and there are discussions underway about how to move forward, Steichen said.
Richardson has been back working in the weight room for a while and has resumed throwing, Steichen said. The team must declare his practice window open for him to return to the practice field, during which he would have 21 days to be evaluated and be activated. The Colts have just three regular-season games remaining.
As for Rivers, when he plays next week, it could look different from the conservative game plan the Colts employed Sunday, Steichen said. Only nine of Rivers’ 27 pass attempts traveled more than 5 yards downfield.
“We wanted to run the ball, control the clock, take easy completions, and I thought we did a pretty good job of that, Steichen said.
He added, later, “I think every game plan will be different. That was the game plan going into it for that game.”
Sunday’s loss dropped the Colts to 8-6 on the season, a game behind the Houston Texans for the AFC’s final wild-card spot.
