Philip Rivers reflects on an unexpected coda to his 18-year career

Since returning in Week 15, Rivers has thrown for 544 yards, made four touchdown passes and has three interceptions. His best game was on "Monday Night Football" in a 48-27 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, where Rivers threw for 277 yards and two touchdown passes. Rivers scored a 97.0% quarterback rating for his effort, a great performance considering he was sitting on the couch for five years. 

Rivers initially retired in 2020 after finishing his then 17-year career. The Colts went back to Rivers in a desperate bid to salvage their season when quarterback Daniel Jones went down with a season-ending Achilles injury. 

The move was widely criticized due to Rivers' age, but head coach Shane Steichen wanted to bring in a veteran who could understand his system and be reliable. Rivers had played for the Colts in 2020, so the team knew they could trust him. Ultimately, it was to no avail as he couldn't lead the Colts to a win.

This run capped off a disappointing year for the Colts, which started surprisingly well. The Colts were considered the best team in the league through the first half of the season, boasting the top-ranked offense for several weeks before they came crashing down. Still, for a little while, it was a better season than many Colts fans were expecting, and none of them were expecting Rivers to suit up again.

"If it's the last one, it's the last one. I thought the last one was walking off the field in Buffalo and walking up that tunnel, and I was fine with it. And that one had had tears those few days after it, and I was at peace with that [game] being the last one," Rivers said. "So, certainly if it is, I got three bonus games that I never saw coming and couldn't be more thankful that I got the opportunity."

Now, Rivers has 63,837 passing yards, 424 touchdown passes and an average passer rating of 95.1% for his career. While it was a strange epilogue to a likely Hall of Fame career, it was also an entertaining one.