Colts: Philip Rivers truly proving he’s only a stopgap quarterback for Indy

You couldn’t have asked for a worse game from Colts QB Philip Rivers.

The Indianapolis Colts fully had multiple opportunities to strike back and defeat the Cleveland Browns, but they failed miserably, and a big reason why was the play of quarterback Philip Rivers.

There are many other reasons that contributed to the loss — the absences of Anthony Castonzo and Darius Leonard and the defense getting shredded for the entire first half — but the whole idea of bringing Rivers in this offseason was to put a veteran QB under center and limit egregious rookie mistakes.

Everyone knew Rivers had a turnover problem, but it’s reached a prohibitive point, as the man very obviously cost Indy in Week 1 against the Jags, hasn’t entirely had the offense humming in between against the Vikings, Jets and Bears, and then put up a putrid performance against the Browns.

Seriously, what is this?

https://twitter.com/Browns/status/1315415384871374849?s=20

Rivers was understandably under duress at times, but committing turnovers like these makes it seem like there’s a rookie under center.

https://twitter.com/Browns/status/1315427174594367488?s=20

And then when he decided to throw it away when the pressure got too excessive, it resulted in an intentional grounding and a safety!

Then he bobbled a snap on a crucial third and goal with three minutes remaining to halt a huge Colts drive. They had to settle for a field goal instead of the much-needed touchdown (they were down by nine at that point).

Indy’s offense is dependent on the success of the run game, but a QB of Rivers’ stature simply needs to make throws, avoid back-breaking turnovers, and step up in the pocket when there’s pressure. So far, he’s missed a ton of throws (don’t let his completion percentage fool you), has coughed up the ball enough to cost them two games, and has handled pressure as if he was just drafted in April.

The silver lining here? Rivers is proving he’s nothing more than a stopgap quarterback. He’ll help the Colts stay relevant in 2020, but the front office will surely stay on top of getting their hands on a franchise quarterback as soon as possible. We’d rather see a young and inexperienced talent making these kinds of mistakes instead of a 17-year veteran.

Critics are weak for saying Colts ‘haven’t faced anyone yet’

Critics are weak for saying that the Indianapolis Colts haven't played any good teams yet.