I didn’t think I would be doing a Philip Rivers breakdown this season, but here we are!
Let’s go play by play and review how he did in his return to the NFL after being retired for 5 years. Below are all his pass attempts from the game, which can be watched directly on Youtube.
Play 1 – Deep Pass Incomplete to Jonathan Taylor
This was one of his weaker throws of the game. A happy feet panicky throw in the pocket and he throws up a prayer one on one. It actually could’ve been caught by Taylor, but 50/50 wobbler to a running back 25 yards down the field isn’t ideal.
Play 2 – Quick Hitter Completion to Pittman
It might’ve looked ugly, but Rivers got the ball out super quickly and that’s all that matters. It’s also worth noting that screen passes are surprisingly tricky to operate as a quarterback needs to receive the snap and get the ball out within a second so oftentimes the quarterback is misaligned when making the throw which could impact the ball placement. In this case, Rivers does a nice job of getting it out quickly and accurately.
Play 3 – Incomplete Intermediate Pass to Warren
This was a nice throw under pressure. It was thrown to a spot where only Warren could get it and it does hit his hands, although it’s a tough one to bring in. No one was open, especially to that side of the field, so the throw to Warren was the correct read.
Play 4 – Incomplete Pass Over the middle to Warren
This was a poor decision. Pittman was crossing underneath and was wide open and would’ve easily gotten the first down. Instead he forces a tight throw to Warren in between a few different defenders and despite it being accurate, Warren gets lit up. This was a poor choice on his end.
Play 5 – Throw Away to Abdullah
This was a designed bubble that was completely taken away by the Seahawks and Rivers smartly throws it away.
Play 6 – Short completion to Abdullah
This was a nifty little throw to Abdullah that was thrown in stride to him and he picks up the first down because of it.
Play 7 – Short completion to Pittman in flats
While you can see the arm being weak on this throw, he makes the right read and Pittman makes a nice catch on the play to get the first down.
Play 8 – Incomplete intermediate throw to Pittman
Everyone was covered on this play with Pierce jammed up and Taylor covered underneath so Rivers threw a back shoulder ball to Pittman but the ball was off the mark and Pittman didn’t get his head around early enough to adjust to the ball.
Play 9 – Completion to Warren on the out
This was one of Rivers’ best throws of the game. Warren was covered pretty well on the out but Rivers threw a perfect ball in stride to a spot where only Warren can get it and he made a nice secured catch on the ball, shielding it from the defender as well.
Play 10 – Short completion outside to Downs
Not sure I get the decision to go to Downs who was bracketed well by two DBs, but the throw was decent and it gets a few yards. Doesn’t help the offense much though. Warren might’ve been open over the middle and Pittman was open on a short check down as well; both those options probably gets the Colts more yards to make 3rd down easier.
Play 11 – Quick hitter to Pittman
This was a great throw, thrown perfectly on time to Pittman who fights for the extra yards and nearly gets the first down. The placement on the throw was also very good.
Play 12 – Quick hitter bubble to Abdullah
I love the play call here and Rivers doesn’t hesitate to hit Abdullah right away. That’s what I love about Rivers: he doesn’t delay for an extra second, he hits the open guy right away.
Play 13 – Screen pass to Warren
I hate the screen pass calls against a defense that was barely blitzing. Nothing Rivers can do here.
Play 14 – Intermediate completion to Warren
This was Rivers’ best throw of the game. Thrown perfectly on time and in stride to Warren in between defenders on a long 2nd down is an amazing play from any quarterback.
Play 15 – Screen pass to Taylor
Nothing to analyze here.
Play 16 – Touchdown pass on crosser to Downs
This was a great read and great throw to Downs on the crosser who walks in for the easy touchdown.
Play 17 – Checkdown to Taylor
This is where Rivers shows his experience, patiently waiting and hitting the wide open checkdown to Jonathan Taylor, who gets several yards to make it 3rd and manageable for the Colts.
Play 18 – Incompletion to Downs on the stop and go
The biggest “what if” of the game is this throw. Rivers throws the ball a tad inside, but Downs was so wide open had he seen the ball in the air he could’ve adjusted to it and made a big play on the ball. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see the ball and can’t adjust to it in the air, leading to a big incompletion on 3rd down. In hindsight, a big completion here could’ve been the difference between getting a win and losing. In my opinion, Rivers throws the ball perfectly on time and while a little off the mark, it wasn’t so inaccurate Downs couldn’t have made a play on it (assuming he saw it).
Play 19 – Checkdown to Downs
It appeared that most of the receivers down the field were covered so the checkdown was a fine decision.
Play 20 – Checkdown to Abdullah
Although under pressure from almost the snap of the ball, I do wish Rivers hit Pittman on this one, who ran a smash/swirl/pivot route and was pretty open. Instead, he checks it down to Abdullah, who for some reason decides to completely stop and try and make two defenders miss, getting himself tackled well short on 3rd down.
Play 21 – Screen pass to Taylor
Again, I’m not a fan of screen passes against a team that did not blitz often.
Play 22 – Short throw on angle route to Abdullah
Nice throw and timing on this little pass to Abdullah who gets a lot of yards back.
Play 23 – Screen pass to Abdullah
For third time in the game, the Colts decide to run a screen pass against a non blitzing defense. In previous weeks, teams blitzed and brought pressure on 3rd downs but that was against Daniel Jones. Rivers is a completely different quarterback, with a limited arm and no mobility, so the Seahawks brought 4 or 5 and dropped 6 or 7 into coverage, baiting Rivers into having to make perfect throws to move the chains.
Play 24 – Throw away to Pierce
Under pressure and with no one open, Rivers smartly throws the ball away, scrambling at about 2mph in the process.
Play 25 – Back-shoulder fade to Alec Pierce
This was an incredible throw to Alec Pierce in the biggest moment in the game. Pierce, who was getting interfered with, smartly adjusted to a perfectly thrown ball and made a big catch. This was about a 25 yard throw for Rivers and he threw it right on the money.
Play 26 – Completion on crosser to Warren
While the completion got the Colts a few yards, it was the running back Taylor leaking out of the backfield that was wide open for a potential big gain. Both the crosser by Warren and the other crosser by Pittman were completely covered.
Play 27 – Interception over the middle
Rivers throws an interception here on a completely covered Pittman over the middle. With very little time left, he had to take a risk, so no blame to be given here.
It was an admirable effort and performance by Philip Rivers. He made a ton of good plays and right reads that allowed the Colts to move the ball effectively and finish three drives with points. He went into a hostile environment against one of the best defenses in the league and played his ass off, nearly pulling out a win.
Rivers showed what it means to be a true quarterback. Even with a limited arm and no mobility, he consistently moved the ball and made some excellent throws because of his timing and accuracy. If you told me I had to build a quarterback and could only give him two attributes, I’d choose ball placement and timing over anything else. Rivers proved that no matter the era, no matter how much time you’ve taken off, and no matter how diminished your arm may be, if you still have timing and accuracy, you can play in the NFL.
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