Jan 7. 2026 | Isaac Garcia | Sports Editor
The Indianapolis Colts started the 2025 season off stronger than most expected. Behind star running back Jonathan Taylor and an unexpected career resurgence from quarterback Daniel Jones, the Colts sat at 8-4, and not only were they exceeding expectations, but they looked like legitimate contenders for the Super Bowl and even held their conference’s number one seed at a point. Furthermore, Indianapolis made a move to bring in defensive back Sauce Gardner from the New York Jets at the trade deadline in a move that signaled they were all-in on the current iteration of the team and that they felt like Gardner was a missing piece that could put them over the top.
However, towards the end of the first quarter during a game in Jacksonville, Jones, who was having what most considered to be the best season of his career and already somehow playing through a fractured fibula, dropped back, stumbling a bit as he did so, completed a short pass to Alec Pierce who was coming off of a drag route and fell to the ground. As the training staff surrounded him, Jones, who was visibly frustrated and in pain, slammed his helmet into the ground multiple times. The replay showed that on the drop back, his foot planted in the turf awkwardly before he hit the ground. Further tests and imaging would reveal that Jones had torn his Achilles, ending his best season and putting a year that had been filled with so much excitement for the Colts fanbase and organization in peril. Backup quarterback Riley Leonard would take over, but unfortunately the Colts went on to lose 36-19. To make matters even worse, Leonard suffered an injury of his own during the game, spraining his PCL, which caused him to miss time. Not to mention, their other quarterback, Anthony Richardson, was already on the injured reserve list with an orbital fracture after a freak accident during pregame warmups where he was hit in the eye with an exercise band. The Colts tried to turn to Sam Ehlinger who had played for Indianapolis in the past and was a member of the Denver Broncos practice squad, but he turned down the opportunity, choosing to stay with the Broncos who had been putting together a solid season of their own.
And so, with few other reliable options, the Colts made a move that shocked everyone. They brought in Philip Rivers, a quarterback many feel is a future Hall of Famer after spending 17 seasons in the NFL, 16 of them with the Chargers. Rivers had last played in 2020 with the Colts at age 39, putting together a decent season and making the playoffs before losing in the wild card round to the Buffalo Bills.
Rivers, now 44 years old, had spent the last few years as the head coach for St. Michael Catholic High School where his son Gunner played quarterback. At St. Michael Catholic, Rivers had implemented a simplified version of the Colts offense and Rivers would speak with Colts head coach Shane Steichen weekly about the intricacies of the offense and how to incorporate them into his game plans. Steichen and Rivers had a long history of working together, as Steichen had been with the Chargers for nine seasons in total throughout Rivers’ career there in various assistant coach roles which helped ease the transition for everyone involved.
However, his first game back would quite possibly be the worst matchup he could’ve been dealt. He would be tasked with leading the Colts into Seattle against one of the best and most complicated defensive schemes in the league with just under a week of preparation. Rivers and the Colts got the ball first and started the game with three straight handoffs to Jonathan Taylor. Rivers’ first pass of the game would be a deep shot to Taylor which fell incomplete bringing up a third down. On the next play, Rivers would find Michael Pittman for his first completion, good for 12 yards and a first down. The game was a relatively low scoring affair and stood at just 6-3 late in the first half. With less than six minutes in the half, Rivers took the field again and led the Colts through the teeth of the Seattle defense and into the redzone. Then on 3rd and 4, from the Seattle 8 yard line with just over 90 seconds left in the half, Rivers found Josh Downs for his first touchdown pass in nearly five years, taking a 13-3 lead.
Unfortunately for the Colts, Seattle would respond in the second half by taking a 15-13 lead late in the game. It would be up to Rivers and the offense to take the lead back and walk off Lumen Field with a win against all odds. On the drive, Rivers made a huge play on third down, finding Alec Pierce for a 16 yard gain. While the Seattle defense would mostly stand strong, the Colts did just enough to set themselves up for a 60 yard field goal attempt from Blake Grupe which made it through the uprights, giving them a 16-15 lead with less than a minute to play. Again though, Seattle refused to lose, driving down the field and hitting a long field goal attempt of their own to take an 18-16 lead with 18 seconds. After getting the ball at their own 30 yard line, Rivers, in desperation mode, heaved a pass deep for Michael Pittman that was intercepted by Seahawks defensive back Devon Witherspoon, sealing the game for good with the Colts coming up just short.
Despite the disappointing result, most acknowledged that with all things considered, Rivers had put together a solid performance going 18-27, for 120 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
The next week wouldn’t be much easier as the San Francisco 49ers would come into Indianapolis. Rivers once again held his own, going 23-35, 277 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Yet, it still wasn’t enough as the Colts fell 48-27 on Monday Night Football. After the Texans defeated the Chargers, the Colts were then mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, making them just the sixth team since 1970 to miss the playoffs after an 8-2 start. The 2025 Colts and Philip Rivers is a story one would expect to see in a movie, and while it didn’t have the ending they might’ve hoped for, it was undoubtedly one of the best stories of the year.
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu
