SANTA CLARA — The 49ers’ defense will face 44-year old Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers this week on “Monday Night Football,” and defensive lineman Keion White is taking the the matter very seriously.
“Those are the quarterbacks that scare me the most, because they have a lot of experience,” White told NBC Sports Bay Area on Thursday. “You’re not going to get a moving quarterback and things like that, but he’s going to make the right throws and he’s going to get the ball out.”
White and his defensive counterparts faced rookie quarterbacks in their last two contests in Cleveland Browns’ Shedeur Sanders and Tennessee Titans’ Cam Ward. Even though there had been five years since Rivers stepped onto an NFL field before his Week 15 start, White believes the defense needs to pay very close attention to Rivers.
“You have to be a lot more disciplined with guys like Philip Rivers,” White said. “Because all of his experience, he’s going to take advantage of mistakes. Sometimes with younger quarterbacks, you can be more aggressive on the front end. Rookie quarterbacks aren’t going to process as fast. Veteran quarterbacks will, and they know where the ball needs to go.”
Coach Kyle Shanahan, like White, believes Rivers still has what it takes to play the position and win games. The signal-caller will take advantage of any opportunities made available by the defense, even if his mobility is potentially diminished.
In the Colts’ Week 15 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Rivers completed 18 of his 27 attempts for 120 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The quarterback’s average yards per attempt only was 4.4 yards, but Rivers did enough to nearly pull out a win in the Pacific Northwest.
“I mean, he is a little bit older,” Shanahan said. “Might not quite be as fast, might not quite be able to throw it the same distance that he used to, but you don’t know that for sure because you don’t get to see it exactly on tape.
“I see a guy who knows how to play the position as good as anyone. I think he had 27 throws in that game, and every ball goes right to the exact spot. He attacked their coverages great. He played against a very good pass rush and was able to get rid of the ball. He’s one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever watched and he definitely helped that team.”
It will need to be a collective effort by San Francisco’s defense to limit Rivers enough to procure a win at Lucas Oil Stadium. The defensive line hopes to see the return of Sam Okuayinonu and Jordan Elliott, which should help get pressure on the pocket.
The secondary will need to play disciplined, in an attempt to limit Rivers going through his progressions.
“I think he was the fastest time to throw last week because he knows where the ball is going and he processes things so fast,” White said. “We will have to play a little more tight coverage, make him get off his spot and make him move his feet and turn him into a mobile quarterback.”
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