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44-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback Philip Rivers made his return to an NFL field on Sunday after over 1,800 days away, having last played in an NFL game in January 2021. And for a fresh-off-the-street grandpa, Rivers performed admirably against one of the league’s best defenses in the Seattle Seahawks.
In the Colts’ narrow 18-16 loss to the now 11-3 Seattle Seahawks, Philip Rivers completed 18-27 passes for 120 yards for one touchdown and one interception.
While Rivers’ arm was clearly lacking zip and power, he was able to put forth a relatively competent performance nonetheless, likely due to his Canton-caliber ability to read a defense.
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That skill, according to NFL fans, is beginning to become a dying heart — which is a fact that was only further highlighted by Rivers’ play against the Seahawks after nearly five years away from the game.
NFL fans believe that Philip Rivers’ performance at 44-years-old highlighted the issue with an entire generation of quarterbacks
“Guys do not do this anymore. Checks the protection, D disguises Cover-3 but he sees the S fly into the flat to replace the WLB and the MLB drop to hook. Goes right to the over which he knows has a tiny window because the MLB has to flip his hips to make a play. Elite process,” Bengals content creator Max Toscano explained on Twitter alongside a video of Rivers coverting a 2nd-and-11 for a first down.
“He has an arm of brisket but his processing opened a window that guys with bazookas will never even see,” he added.
Guys do not do this anymore.
Checks the protection, D disguises Cover-3 but he sees the S fly into the flat to replace the WLB and the MLB drop to hook.
Goes right to the over which he knows has a tiny window because the MLB has to flip his hips to make a play. Elite process pic.twitter.com/237yN4Xckz
— Max Toscano (@maxtoscano1) December 14, 2025
That take seems to be the consensus of NFL fans at large, who couldn’t help but notice the style of quarterback that Rivers plays compared to the modern playing style of elite QBs — i.e. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, etc. — who heavily rely on their physical gifts to dominate games.
This is basically what Tom Brady has been talking about all the time since he retired. QBs basically don’t do anymore what Rivers does. He always knows where to go with the ball and he has to, because if he wouldn’t be decisive, he would be killed out there.
Great to see
— Timo Riske (@PFF_Moo) December 14, 2025
tom brady’s next rant talking about how modern quarterbacks suck after watching 44 year old philip rivers come in after 5 years and be efficient against one of the best defenses in football >
— Kyron Samuels (@kyronsamuels) December 14, 2025
I said it last night and I’ll say it again. Seeing Philip Rivers orchestrate the Colts offense by reading the defense pre-snap and making adjustments was art. You don’t see that anymore with current QBs and probably won’t ever again. I’ll miss it for sure.
— Nino⚡️ (@BoltUpNino) December 15, 2025
On Monday, Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced that Rivers would be starting the Colts’ next game — a virtually must-win Monday Night Football matchup at home against the San Francisco 49ers as they look to keep pace in the AFC Wild Card race. The Colts are currently on the outside looking in and trail the 7th seed Houston Texans by one game.