Philip Rivers delivers vintage first half performance for Colts, delighting NFL fans

Philip Rivers’ instrumentality to the NFL has galore erstwhile quarterbacks implicit the property of 40 wondering if they could crook backmost the timepiece and execute astatine a likewise precocious level.

If anything, they should astatine slightest instrumentality enactment of what Rivers did successful the archetypal fractional for the Indianapolis Colts against the San Francisco 49ers.

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Indianapolis Colts backmost Philip Rivers (17) passes arsenic San Francisco 49ers antiaircraft lineman Keion White (56) applies unit during the archetypal fractional of an NFL shot game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, successful Indianapolis. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 semifinalist enactment connected a vintage show successful the archetypal fractional against the 49ers, delighting NFL fans who tuned into the crippled connected Monday night.

He started the nighttime coming retired to cheers from Colts fans astatine Lucas Oil Stadium – his household besides successful attendance. The Colts went 9 plays, 72 yards and Rivers recovered wide receiver Alec Pierce for a 20-yard touchdown. Indianapolis jumped retired to a 7-0 lead.

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Indianapolis Colts backmost Philip Rivers (17) passes against the San Francisco 49ers during the archetypal fractional of an NFL shot game, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, successful Indianapolis.  (AJ Mast/AP Photo/)

San Francisco scored connected back-to-back drives acknowledgment to Brock Purdy hooking up with Demarcus Robinson, the peculiar teams forcing a turnover, and past Purdy throwing a touchdown walk to Christian McCaffrey. When Rivers got the shot back, helium drove down the tract again.

The Colts scored connected a 16-yard touchdown walk from Rivers to Pierce to extremity a 12-play, 66-yard drive. The crippled was tied with a batch of clip to spell successful the archetypal half.

Indianapolis trailed 24-17 astatine the half. But the attraction was connected Rivers.

He was 14-of-21 with 175 passing yards and 2 touchdown passes. The past clip helium threw aggregate touchdown passes successful the regular play was connected Dec. 20, 2020, against the Houston Texans.

Rivers came backmost to the Colts past week astatine the property of 44. He had a coagulated show against the Seattle Seahawks for idiosyncratic who hadn’t thrown a shot successful astir 5 years.

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Now, the Colts’ playoff hopes remainder connected his shoulders.

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