SEATTLE — For a brief moment, Cinderella’s glass slipper fit. There was gold at the end of the rainbow. There was sunshine in Seattle.

The Indianapolis Colts came to the Pacific Northwest with their 44-year-old grandfather quarterback, who was just days removed from a five-year retirement, and nearly did the impossible, shocking the NFL world by pushing the Seattle Seahawks to the brink.

But there would be no Hollywood ending.

“It was a blast, but obviously the emotions now are disappointment, right? Disappointment,” an emotional Rivers said following Indy’s 18-16 loss. “This isn’t about me. We got a team that was scrapping like crazy to try to stay alive and get in the postseason.”

Regarding the playoffs, the Colts still have a pulse, but it’s waning, and a fourth-straight loss certainly didn’t help. The manner of the defeat only made it that much more crushing. The Athletic’s NFL Playoff Simulator now gives Indy a 10 percent chance to make the playoffs.

Colts kicker Blake Grupe drilled a franchise-record 60-yard field goal with 47 seconds left to give Indianapolis a 16-15 lead. His clutch kick, paired with Rivers’ steadiness under center and Jonathan Taylor’s tough running, had pulled the Colts so close to the storybook ending many thought was unfathomable against a team with arguably the best defense in the league.

That ending proved too good to be true. The Seahawks hadn’t scored a touchdown all day, and as it turns out, they didn’t need one. They quickly extinguished the Colts’ late heroics with some last-second execution of their own. Seattle kicker Jason Myers delivered the dagger by nailing a 56-yard, go-ahead field goal — his team’s sixth field goal of the game — with 18 seconds left. Seahawks safety Coby Bryant sealed the win by picking off Rivers’ last pass attempt on a desperation throw deep down the middle that was intended for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.

TIPPED AND PICKED!

Coby Bryant picks off Philip Rivers to seal the win for the @Seahawks 🙌 pic.twitter.com/l6KzNDIgcV

— NFL (@NFL) December 15, 2025

The devastation Rivers wore on his face after that turnover stood in stark contrast to the joy he displayed earlier following a 7-yard TD pass to wide receiver Josh Downs in the second quarter. For Colts coach Shane Steichen, it provided a snap shot of why he even called Rivers to coax him out of retirement.

“It was pretty special to see that,” said Steichen, who worked for eight years alongside Rivers with the Chargers. “I’m not going to lie. It was awesome to see him, how excited he was. Brought back the flashbacks of five, six years ago, the way he operated out there and the communication on the sidelines with the O-line walking up and down. He was confident, like, ‘I can do it.’”

If Sunday was a movie in Seattle, though, this wasn’t the kind with a Disney ending, as an emotional Rivers held back tears following the loss. The 44-year-old, who is the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School (Fairhope, Ala.), expressed profound gratitude to be back on the gridiron as the oldest QB in Colts history, though he couldn’t care less about that fun fact, nor any others.

He reluctantly but candidly discussed the lessons he’s hoping to pass along to his players and even his own children about how, “Coach wasn’t scared” to try, because he recognizes how unique his spotlight is and the power it commands.

However, it’s the failure that reminds him of how much he still loves the game. Rivers hadn’t been on an NFL team in 1,800 days, but somehow a one-score loss will still haunt him like the day he initially walked away from football. Moral victories be damned.

“This is a one-score league, is what it is,” Rivers said. “Across the league every Sunday, I’ve now been doing this as a fan the past four-and-a-half years. And it’s central time, which we are (where I live in Alabama), at about 3:00 (p.m.) you’re scrambling to find which … four or five games that are coming down the wire, and then you look right back up at 6:15, and here they’re coming right back down the wire, and then you watch the Sunday night game. And I’ve been doing it for 14 weeks.

“Now, I’m right smack dab in the middle of one with 50 seconds left.”

It had been seven years since Rivers last played in Seattle, but trailing 15-13 late in the fourth quarter, he turned back the clock and reminded everyone in attendance why he’d been named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2026 class (though now he’ll need to wait five more years to receive that particular honor again). Facing a third-and-7 from Indy’s 35-yard line with 1:55 left in the game, Rivers called upon Alec Pierce. The fourth-year receiver, known for his deep-ball prowess, hadn’t made a catch all day, but Rivers didn’t care. He saw Pierce matched up one-on-one against cornerback Josh Jobe and trusted his receiver as much as he trusted himself. Rivers threw the ball to Pierce’s back shoulder before Pierce even turned around, and Pierce made his QB right by snagging the football with Jobe draped all over him.

First down.

The Colts, suddenly and improbably, were at Seattle’s 49-yard line. Three plays later, facing another third-and-7 from the Seahawks’ 46-yard line, Rivers was calculating again. This time, the 18-year-pro didn’t like what he saw from the Seahawks’ secondary, so he checked to a run. If running back Jonathan Taylor could break free for a first down, Indianapolis could end the game with a walk-off field goal. However, if he didn’t, a few more yards would still put Indianapolis at the very edge of Grupe’s range.

Taylor grinded out four yards on the carry, which set up Grupe to be the hero. Pierce credited Rivers for how poised he was late in the game, especially when it turned into a chess match.

Philip Rivers’ high school team cheering him on from Fairhope, Alabama 💙 pic.twitter.com/mFONJ9iqXp

— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2025

“It’s incredible seeing him operate. He’s so smart,” Pierce said of Rivers. “I know what the quarterback checks are and what they’re doing and stuff. … I’m looking out there, and I’m like, ‘This is a good look for (this call),’ and he’s like, ‘Nah, I knew they were faking it.’ I don’t know how he knows all this stuff. I gotta figure that out, but he’s definitely got a lot of knowledge, and it’s pretty special playing with him.”

For all of the talk about how Rivers would fare physically after being out of the NFL for nearly half a decade, his mind helped him stave off Father Time — at least for one afternoon — and give his team a chance.

The Colts were 47 seconds away from Rivers 30th fourth-quarter comeback and 36th game-winning drive. He’d already ranked 11th and 14th all-time in those categories, respectively, entering Sunday’s contest. A victory would have made him the third QB in NFL history to win a game at age 44 or older. But more importantly, a win would have changed the tenor of the Colts’ season.

Steichen called Sunday’s performance “encouraging” but disappointing, as did Rivers and many others. They know they don’t have much time to turn it around, though linebacker Zaire Franklin insisted that the team will continue to rally around its 44-year-old “adrenaline junkie,” who took Sunday’s loss just as hard as the players who’ve been there all season.

“It’s insane playing with (Rivers). Actually, my first carry ever was a touchdown against the Chargers with Philip Rivers,” said veteran running back Ameer Abdullah, who began his career with the Lions. “We went up 21-3 and he brought them all the way back to beat us 28-21.

“So, I still believe he’s the same (guy), and if there’s anyone who can mount a comeback for this team and lead that kind of charge, it’s him.”