When the Indianapolis Colts signed veteran quarterback Philip Rivers to a one-year deal this offseason, they had the idea that he would be a strong complement to their potentially elite rushing attack.
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With arguably the best offensive line in the NFL, the potential of a two-headed monster and a smart play-caller in Frank Reich, the Colts believed a strong run game would do wonders to help Rivers bounce back.
Through five games, however, the run game hasn’t lived up to expectations and when that happens, Rivers gets exposed. We saw it in Week 1 against the Jaguars and we saw it again Sunday in the 32-23 loss against the Browns.
Rivers is no longer the passer he used to be. We sort of knew that entering the 2020 season. Despite the Colts’ claims this offseason, Rivers’ arm strength has declined. That’s expected of a 38-year-old quarterback who has attempted over 7,700 passes in his career.
We also knew that Rivers can be reckless with the football, especially when he feels he needs to make a play. That aggressive trait is somewhat welcomed, though, after Colts fans had to endure a passive and boring passing attack with Jacoby Brissett in 2019.
But Sunday’s loss against the Cleveland Browns showed that those issues will hit the Colts hard when there is no run game to complement Rivers and when the defense isn’t producing at the ridiculous rate it had in Weeks 2–4.
Despite Frank Reich’s (expected) support of Rivers’ game on Sunday, it was painfully obvious that the $25 million quarterback has issues throwing outside the numbers. That may have flown a few years ago when Rivers could still get some velocity when throwing from his back foot.
But even after a solid first half of football from the veteran in Week 5, Rivers saw his game collapse in the second half. Rivers buried the Colts, who already trailed 20-10 coming out of halftime, when he made a terrible decision—and an even worse throw—that led to the Browns returning an interception for a touchdown. The only reason they weren’t completed deflated after that was because rookie returner Isaiah Rodgers ran back the ensuing kick off for a touchdown.
To make matters worse, Rivers was called for an intentional grounding penalty in his own end zone on pressure from Myles Garrett. That resulted in a safety.
Then Rivers committed the backbreaking turnover in the fourth quarter—his second of the game. Rivers finished the game completing 21 of 33 passes for 243 yards, two interceptions and a 60.5 passer rating.
Now, this isn’t panic mode yet. The Colts have a very strong chance to enter the Week 7 bye with a 4-2 record and a chance to make a run for a playoff spot in the second half of the season. And when the run game gets going, Rivers has shown he can be an upgrade under center. We’ve seen that, too.
But the expectations have to be tame when it comes to Rivers. He isn’t going to be the type of quarterback to lead the offense to massive output days with his arm.
When the run game isn’t going right and the defense isn’t completely dominating, Rivers is showing us who he is.
He’s an intelligent quarterback who can run the offense but when he’s asked to carry the entire unit, he’s likely going to struggle.
And until the Colts figure out their issues with the rushing attack, Rivers will continue to be exposed like a nerve without any protection from self-inflicting damage.
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