Colts: Philip Rivers hate getting aggressive ahead of Raiders showdown
By Adam Weinrib
The Raiders intend to beat the Colts this weekend, but they *really* just want to hit Philip Rivers.
The Indianapolis Colts and Philip Rivers are going to be jazzed to beat the Raiders on Sunday — and the feeling of rising hatred appears to be mutual.
Rivers’ 16 years in the AFC West have bred a unique revulsion towards the team formerly based in Oakland, but unfortunately he’ll have no great advantage in this department.
After all, the swapping of Chargers powder blue for Colts blue and white has done nothing to tamper the Raiders’ distaste for the aging signal caller, and they seem quite excited to get a chance to knock him off his block again this week now that he resides in another division entirely.
You simply never know when it’ll be the last time, you know? Raiders run-stuffer Johnathan Hankins laid the relationship bare in his comments this week prior to the battle.
“You can tell he 100 percent hates the Raiders. And I been telling the guys all week, nothing’s changed because he is on the Colts. We are going to whup on him just like we did in the two games last year.” https://t.co/aN2wcxNb0M
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 12, 2020
Hankins and the Raiders did render Rivers mortal last season, defeating his Chargers 26-24 and 24-17 in two late season matchups. The gunslinger threw two touchdown passes against three interceptions total in the contests, without a single tally of either registered in their most recent affair on Dec. 22, 2019.
To be perfectly honest, though, “You can tell he 100 percent hates the Raiders” is exactly what we want to hear. After all, Rivers has a chance to knock Las Vegas off their playoff axis and back into Patriots territory with a victory on Sunday.
The shade has certainly been visible lately on the other side under center, too, as Derek Carr took a miniature shot at Indy’s leader this week, too.
Raiders' Derek Carr on his youtube video on birth of his daughter: `I think we're done. I'm not trying to be Philip Rivers on that. Especially this week.' Carr has four children. Rivers has nine. #Raiders vs. Colts Sunday.
— Jerry McDonald (@Jerrymcd) December 9, 2020
This brings up an interesting query. Rivers’ oversized family is one of the most common NFL jokes among fans and Twitter snarkers alike. Is it kosher for a fellow member of the QB fraternity to make the same goof? Are Rivers and Carr tight or literal enemies?
Hasn’t Rivers made it perfectly clear he hates these guys?
Regardless, something is percolating on both sides here. Hopefully it leads to the best kind of collision this weekend.
