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New/old Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers mounted a remarkable comeback over the weekend as he started for the Colts 1,800 days after last appearing in an NFL game in January 2021. After the game, the old gunslinger was full of hard-hitting, heart-string-tugging quotes.
Before the game, Philip Rivers briefly spoke to CBS about why he decided to return to the Indianapolis Colts despite now being 44-years-old, explaining that he had an opportunity to essentially “go into battle” (in the sports way) with his old teammates.
“I love the game. Got an opportunity. And it’s just how I remember it,” Rivers said about returning to the NFL.
“I’m excited to be a teammate again. There’s some teammates in their locker room that were here in 2020 — last time we were in the postseason. So, for an opportunity to join arm-in-arm with them and go after it again — I’m not here to be a hero by any means. I’m here to be one of the guys and we know all it’s going to take. It’s tough to win here, but we’re going to give it our best shot.”
“I love the game. Got an opportunity. And it’s just how I remember it.” – Philip Rivers is about to make his return | @AJRoss_TV pic.twitter.com/hBloOjhTil
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 14, 2025
PHILIP RIVERS THROWING TDs IN 2025
INDvsSEA on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/Pp98lKDPlZ
— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2025
44-year-old Indianapolis Colts Philip Rivers gave emotional explanation of his decision to return to the NFL after the loss to the Seahawks
After the two point loss — in which the valiant Rivers completed 18 of 27 passes for 120 yards with a touchdown and an interception, which came on his final pass of the game as he tried to force the ball down field — the likely future Hall of Famer was even more reflective and was dropping absolute bars of heart-string-tugging quotes in his postgame presser.
“This isn’t the motivation, but I do think that maybe there will be – I think about my own boys, my own two sons, but certainly the high school team I’m coaching, but this isn’t why I’m doing it,” Rivers said. “I know it comes with it and I know it is a story and I know it is rare and all those things, but I didn’t do that. I was enjoying myself down there being coach in south Alabama.”
“Obviously this doesn’t come up every day. But I think maybe it will inspire or teach not to be run or be scared of what may or may not happen. Hopefully, certainly I think of my sons and those ballplayers that I’m in charge of at the school, that they’ll say ‘Crap, coach wasn’t scared.'”
“”Like, shoot, sometimes there is doubt, and it’s real,” he said while briefly choking up. “The guaranteed safe bet is to go home or to not go for it, and the other one is, ‘Shoot, let’s see what happens.’ I hope in that sense that can be a positive to some young boys, or young people.”
— PEP (@pahrduve) December 15, 2025
Prior to Sunday, Rivers’ last snap in the NFL was on January 9, 2021, in a 27-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs. The loss to the Seahawks have put the 8-6 Colts on the outside looking into the AFC playoff picture, as they currently trail the 9-5 Texans for the 3rd and final wild card berth.
The Colts schedule unfortunately doesn’t get any easier from here, though, as they’ll next host the 10-4 San Francisco 49ers and the 10-4 Jacksonville Jaguars before ending their season with a road matchup against the Houston Texans. The Colts will likely be underdogs in every single one of those games.