Philip Rivers proved a few things for the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15's loss to the Seattle Seahawks. One is that, indeed, a long-retired quarterback who uses his high football IQ as much as his physical talent can truly lead an NFL offense, rusty or not. The quarterback also showed he doesn't have much arm strength and no speed.
The positive part is that head coach Shane Steichen is smart enough to understand how to design plays that will help Rivers be moderately successful. Instead of trying to create a lot of explosive plays, Steichen hopes his offense can methodically move the ball down the field and score just enough points to win.
The negative part is that wide receiver Alec Pierce, a breakout player for the Colts this season, is obviously not going to be nearly as productive the rest of the season. His skill set doesn't match what Rivers can currently do. Forget about throwing the ball down the field to Pierce in one-on-one coverage; the quarterback cannot do that.
Indianapolis Colts' reliance on Philip Rivers might mean bad things for Alec Pierce
Against the Seahawks, Pierce was targeted only once, a pass he caught for 16 yards and what might have been a key first down. The wide receiver has shown this year that he can do more than simply run post routes. He can catch passes over the middle and along the sidelines.
He can probably keep running those routes, but Philip Rivers simply cannot get him the ball. Instead, the quarterback used underneath routes to his running backs and tight end Tyler Warren. Of Rivers' 18 completions, the running backs and tight end caught 11 of them for just 65 yards.
Seattle prepared as well as it could have for a quarterback who hasn't played in five years. Head coach Mike Macdonald couldn't have known how strong Rivers' arm was or if Indianapolis could complete deep passes. The defenses the Colts face the rest of the way will know.
Steichen, for all the brilliant work he has done in a 2025 season that started so promising and will now likely end before the playoffs, must scheme a way for Pierce to get involved. The wide receiver is too explosive to ignore. He leads the league in yards per completion (20.1) and was trending toward a career-high in yards.
He might not get there with Philip Rivers as the quarterback because the offense needs to be efficient instead of explosive. Pierce is pure explosion, but might not be a good check-down option.