The Indianapolis Colts signed Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers to a one-year, $25 million contract on Saturday.
For the Houston Texans, it means they will have to face another formidable signal caller in a Colts uniform, as if Houston hasn’t had enough with Peyton Manning (1998-2011) and Andrew Luck (2012-18).
Rivers owns a 2-3 career record against the Texans. Ahead of Houston’s Week 3 encounter with the Los Angeles Chargers, Texans coaches and players shared their thoughts on the former 2004 first-round pick from North Carolina State.
Rivers is never out of games
Texans two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson knows that going against Rivers means that the opposition will be going hard for the whole 60 minutes.
“Philip has been doing a heck of a job throwing for thousands and thousands of yards, many touchdowns,” Watson told reporters on Sept. 18, 2019. “He’s a gunslinger who’s going to toss it up and give his playmakers a chance, and he’s very confident. He’s never out of games, he’s always intense and leading that team. You can tell that he wants to win a lot and he wants to score a lot of points.”
Watson’s side beat Rivers’ team 27-20 with the former 2017 first-round pick completing 25-of-34 for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Even though Watson had a better stat line than Rivers and beat him head-to-head, Watson still believes Rivers is a player he can learn from.
“He’s definitely a guy, one of those veteran guys that any of the young quarterbacks in this league should be able to look at and can learn something from him,” said Watson.