Philip Rivers Talks NFL Return, 'Disappointment' After Colts' Loss to Seahawks

Philip Rivers' shocking return to the NFL at the age of 44 didn't quite go to plan, as the Indianapolis Colts lost to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, 18-16, after Jason Myers' hit a game-winning, 56-yard field goal with just 16 seconds remaining.

After the game, Rivers expressed disappointment in the result:

"As the game got going I was thankful, grateful, that I was out there," he told reporters. "It was a blast, but obviously now the emotions are disappointment. This isn't about me, we've got a team that was scrapping like crazy, trying to stay alive and get into the postseason. So obviously we're all disappointed. Came up just short."

Rivers finished 18-of-27 for 120 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a sack taken. It appeared he led the Colts to a potential game-winning field goal after Blake Grupe hit a 60-yarder with just 47 seconds remaining, but Sam Darnold promptly led the Seahawks 25 yards in five plays to set up Myers' game-winner.

▶️ Full Colts-Seahawks Recap

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The Colts have now lost four straight games and five of their last six, dropping to 8-6 on the season. They have fallen two games behind the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC South and are a game behind the Houston Texans for the final Wild Card berth.

Rivers has been called upon to help save the team's season after Jones tore his Achilles. With Anthony Richardson Sr. on injured reserve and Riley Leonard previously dealing with an injury (and only making 31 passing attempts in his rookie season) the Colts were in dire straits at the position.

Enter Rivers, who whose last NFL game was in the 2020 postseason before Sunday.

"I know it is a story, and I know it is rare, and all those things," Rivers told reporters of his unlikely return to the NFL. "I wasn't searching for that, I was enjoying myself [in retirement]. Kind of down there being Coach in Southern Alabama [for a high school team]. These kinds of things don't come up. Obviously this doesn't come up every day. But maybe it will inspire or teach not to run or be scared of what may or may not happen. I think of my sons and those ball-players that I'm in charge of at the school. That they'll see, 'Crap, Coach wasn't scared.' Shoot, sometimes there is doubt, and it's real, and the guaranteed safe bet is to go home, or not go for it. And the other one is, 'Shoot, let's see what happens.' So I hope in that sense it can be a positive for some young people."

The Colts are hoping it can be a positive as well as their playoff hopes diminish by the week.