Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts offense matched wits early with the San Francisco 49ers’ steamrolling offense, but couldn’t keep pace before falling 48-27 to see their playoff hopes diminish to a whisper.
The 44-year-old Rivers capped his first two drives with touchdown tosses to Alec Pierce. Sandwiched around a Colts kick-return fumble, Indy was able to keep up with the 49ers, who haven’t punted since Nov. 30, for much of the first half, trailing by 24-17 at the break.
In all, the Colts offense scored on five of its first six offensive possessions, as the savvy Rivers out-smarted the Niners defense with quick throws and pinpoint tosses. The bottom fell out in the final stanza, with a three-and-out, in which Rivers fumbled on a sack, and a game-sealing pick-six by Niners linebacker Dee Winters.
Rivers finished 23-of-35 passing for 277 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. It was an impressive performance given the circumstances of his return, but Rivers wasn’t accepting flowers after the loss.
“There’s no prize for losing,” Rivers said, via The Associated Press. “I know this locker room is hurting again. I’ve been part of it for a short time, two losses, and I know it’s been a long slide now for over a month. I know that’s tough because I’ve been part of those slides. We’ve just got to find a way to dig deep and find a way to win a football game.”
Rivers showed he still possesses the cerebral powers to play the quarterback position even after being out of the game for five years and owning diminished physical skills. The veteran consistently got the Colts into good plays and, with reduced arm strength, used perfect touch to hit his targets in stride.
“I thought he played really good except that one play at the end,” coach Shane Steichen said. “But I thought he was on fire the whole game. He threw it to the right spots every time. He just had that one play at the end, but overall I thought he was really good.”