No one expected this: Philip Rivers takes the MNF stage again

Monday Night Football has a history of improbable quarterbacks stealing the spotlight, but Philip Rivers’ name wasn’t one we expected to be added to that list in 2025. Yet here we are.

At 44 years old, five seasons removed from his last NFL snap, Rivers is set to make his second straight start for the Indianapolis Colts, this time under the brightest lights of the Monday night stage.

Philip Rivers’ second act takes center stage on Monday Night Football

When the Colts lost Daniel Jones for the season, the assumption was that Indianapolis would limp toward the finish line. Instead, they dialed a familiar number.

Rivers, who last played in 2020 and had fully embraced retirement, answered the call and immediately provided something the Colts had been lacking during their four-game skid: calm. In his first game back, Rivers didn’t look like a quarterback shaking off five years of rust, at least not in the numbers. He operated the offense efficiently, avoided getting caught in the pocket and delivered the ball on time.

That performance alone was enough to earn him another start, and Monday night will be the real test. There’s no pretending this is vintage Rivers. The arm strength that once allowed him to challenge defenses is largely gone, and opponents know it. In Week 15, Indianapolis’ offense leaned heavily on quick throws, checkdowns and timing routes. But that’s also where Rivers still excels. His ability to get the ball out before pressure arrives remains intact, and it helped stabilize the Colts’ offense last week, despite a narrow loss.

The Colts will need that again Monday, against the San Francisco 49ers. On paper, the Niners don’t resemble the defensive juggernaut they were in past seasons. Injuries have stripped them of much of their pass-rush depth, and pressure has been hard to come by. San Francisco enters Week 16 near the bottom of the league in sacks and turnovers forced, allowing quarterbacks more time to operate than usual. That could play directly into Rivers’ strengths. Expect plenty of involvement from Jonathan Taylor and the Colts’ short-area pass catchers as Rivers tries to control tempo and possession.

What’s at stake on Monday night?

For the Colts, the margin for error is gone. They haven’t won since early November and are clinging to faint playoff hopes that require near perfection the rest of the way. A Monday night win wouldn’t fix everything, but it would keep the season alive, and further validate the decision to turn back the clock at quarterback.

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