Predicting Philip Rivers’s Stat Line for First NFL Start Since 2020

The 44-year-old is set to be under center for the Colts against the Seahawks on Sunday.

Philip Rivers is officially back. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Philip Rivers is back in the NFL.

That’s right, after taking the last four-plus seasons off in a much-deserved retirement, the 44-year-old got the call—and answered it—from the Colts this week amid a flurry of quarterback room injuries, and is now officially in line to start their Week 15 game against the Seahawks on Sunday.

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Expectations for the eight-time Pro Bowler, and literal grandfather, should of course be tempered given the circumstances. However, Rivers’ familiarity with Indy coach Shane Steichen’s offensive system—the same one he calls for the high school team he coaches—also gives reason to believe that he can at least play the position at a pedestrian level, even against one of the NFL’s top defenses in Seattle.

So, let’s dissect it. What can we reasonably expect from Rivers on Sunday afternoon? Here’s a predicted stat line for the new quarterback in Indianapolis.

Predicting Philip Rivers’s stat line for Sunday’s Colts vs. Seahawks game

Grandpa Philip Rivers is starting for the Colts at quarterback on Sunday. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Colts have one of the league’s top rushing offenses in 2025 thanks, in part, to running back Jonathan Taylor. The 26-year-old currently leads the NFL in both rushing yards (1,356) and rushing touchdowns (16) while also averaging a promising 5.5 yards per carry—tied for fourth in the league.

Additionally, as a unit, Indy’s offense is averaging 130.9 yards per game on the ground and 5.0 yards per carry, and has done so on just 342 rushing attempts this season—a figure that sits in the lower half of the NFL. Given their new situation, the Colts are likely to lean even more heavily into the ground game on Sunday, something Rivers openly acknowledged this week:

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“Shoot, we gotta stinking run the crap out of the ball and play defense and do all those things,” he said on Wednesday of a potential Colts game. “... I’m not here to try to save the day. I’m gonna know where I’m limited and as we go, it will get better.”

All that being said, they’re going to have to keep the Seahawks’ defense—a top-five unit against the run this season, allowing just 91.2 yards per game—honest with at least a semblance of a passing attack. Rivers showed in practice this week that he can still sling it, so it’s not unfathomable to expect roughly 20 pass attempts from him on Sunday. Sprinkle in a handful of quick reads and throws, and a respectable completion percentage isn’t all that far-fetched either. And with nothing to lose, don’t be surprised if Rivers also pushes the envelope a bit and puts the ball in harm’s way a time or two (or three).

So here goes: On Sunday against the Seahawks, we’re predicting Rivers to go 14-for-21 passing for 136 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in what will unfortunately be a two-score loss in Seattle.

Only one thing’s for sure, Rivers is going to give this his all—and dagummit that’s all we can ask for.

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