1. Inside one of Philip Rivers’ best throws of Week 15.
Facing a third-and-seven just after the two-minute warning, and with the Colts trailing by two points, Philip Rivers delivered one of his best throws in his first game since Jan. 9, 2021.
At the snap, Pierce set up an outside release on cornerback Josh Jobe and began pushing vertically down the far sideline. Rivers, less than two seconds after catching the snap, released the throw when Pierce was only five yards beyond the line of scrimmage at about the Colts’ 40-yard line.
Pierce got his head around, re-positioned his body, fought through contact and hauled in the pass from Rivers, who delivered it into an ideal back-shoulder location along the sideline. It was a 16-yard gain to the Seattle 49-yard line, which helped set up Blake Grupe’s go-ahead 60-yard field goal.
Pierce hadn’t worked with Rivers until Wednesday of last week. But after he learned the Colts were bringing in Rivers, the 6-foot-3, 213 pound Pierce went and watched some film of Mike Williams – the 6-foot-4, 218 pound former Chargers receiver who led the NFL with 20.4 yards per reception in 2019, Rivers’ final year with the Chargers. The goal there was figuring out what Rivers likes in a big-body outside receiver.
Last Thursday, Rivers and Pierce spent some extra time working on this exact route. Rivers said he and Pierce worked on four or five of those plays after Pierce told Rivers opposing defensive backs were playing him high and over the top, owing to Pierce’s threat as a downfield receiver.
As Sunday’s game went on, Pierce was not heavily involved – he wasn’t even targeted until he drew a pass interference flag on a third-and-eight early in the fourth quarter.
But what happened on that pass interference informed Rivers and Pierce of something. Jobe was squatting on Pierce running stop routes at the sticks, with the Seahawks believing Rivers wasn’t going to push the ball downfield outside the numbers.
So in a similar situation on the Colts’ next drive, Rivers and Pierce used that information – and the work they put in during the week – to deliver in a key moment.
“We went right back to the go ball and he made a heck of a contested play,” Rivers said.
Rivers’ relationship-building ability with Colts pass-catchers stood out to those guys over the last few days, and plays like the one Pierce made will only accelerate that process over the final few weeks of the regular season.
“A lot of confidence in all the wideouts in a short period of time, obviously I’ve been around (Michael Pittman Jr.), but not the other guys in person,” Rivers. “So, like I said, those kind of plays are I had full trust in those. Those are-trust building, kind of like, we did that. But we don’t have time – it’s not like we’re building this thing out. You’re looking at 21 days left, you know, whatever, to find a way to get in.”