Philip Rivers was always a beloved and respected figure in the football community. Now, he’s officially entered legendary status.
Rivers pushed the ball down the field and put up a masterpiece at the line of scrimmage in the Indianapolis Colts‘ 48-27 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday. He changed protection at the line of scrimmage over and over, picked up the opposition’s plays and reminded the fans of an era of quarterback football that seems long lost in today’s game.
However, as much as no one can put the loss on him and as sharp as he’s looked in his two starts after five years away from the game, he knows he’s there to win football games.
Philip Rivers is “torn” about his return
“I’m torn on how to express it, because it’s been a blast,” Rivers said, per ESPN. “It’s been a blast to prepare and to go stinking get ready and go out there and warm up and do all that with these guys again. But, again, the name of the game is not go have a good time. It’s help find a way to lead your team to a win. And we’ve come up short.”
Rivers completed 23-of-35 passes for 277 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. He kept the team afloat early in the game until the defense fell apart, and special teams blunders also cost him.
That was a painful deja vu of how his career went down more often than not. Rivers’ NFL comeback has only cemented his case as a Hall of Famer, and it has been much more than just a trip down memory lane.
This has been a testament to how stalled quarterback development is in today’s game. Even if the Colts miss the playoffs, everybody will be pulling for “grandpa” Philip Rivers.