Philip Rivers announced his retirement today, and I like the timing. At 39, he’s right at the end of the road physically, but he was able to go out on a high note, putting together a credible final season with the Colts.
A year ago at this time, recall, the Chargers had no interest in bringing him back. He can’t move (at all) anymore, and his arm has declined. Poor throws by Rivers were instrumental in the Colts losing early-season games at Jacksonville and Cleveland.
But between Rivers’ veteran smarts and Frank Reich’s play-calling and offensive design, they were able to make it work. The Colts went 11-5, and I thought they outplayed Buffalo in their first-round playoff loss. Rivers went out on top, passing for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns, with no interceptions.
Rivers played his best ball in the second half of the season, averaging 260 yards per game and completing 68 percent of his passes, with 14 TDs and 4 interceptions (in those eight games). In the second half of the season, only six quarterbacks had higher passer ratings.
That’s a nice ending for a great 17-year career.
| PASSER RATING, SECOND HALF OF SEASON | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Com | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | Int | Rating |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 183 | 246 | 74% | 2,046 | 24 | 3 | 126.2 |
| Deshaun Watson, Hou. | 197 | 273 | 72% | 2,447 | 16 | 2 | 116.0 |
| Josh Allen, Buff. | 210 | 295 | 71% | 2,372 | 21 | 5 | 111.6 |
| Kirk Cousins, Min. | 212 | 307 | 69% | 2,410 | 20 | 3 | 110.0 |
| Lamar Jackson, Balt. | 108 | 163 | 66% | 1,244 | 14 | 5 | 104.9 |
| Ryan Tannehill, Ten. | 148 | 227 | 65% | 1,838 | 14 | 4 | 103.4 |
| Philip Rivers, Ind. | 183 | 269 | 68% | 2,082 | 14 | 4 | 102.2 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 200 | 304 | 66% | 2,425 | 17 | 5 | 101.9 |
| Tom Brady, T.B. | 197 | 302 | 65% | 2,444 | 20 | 8 | 101.2 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 165 | 250 | 66% | 1,957 | 12 | 3 | 100.7 |
| Baker Mayfield, Clev. | 168 | 263 | 64% | 2,049 | 11 | 1 | 100.1 |
| Taysom Hill, N.O. | 84 | 116 | 72% | 842 | 4 | 2 | 97.0 |
| Mitchell Trubisky, Chi. | 148 | 211 | 70% | 1,495 | 10 | 5 | 96.0 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 64 | 105 | 61% | 822 | 7 | 3 | 95.8 |
| Andy Dalton, Dall. | 164 | 248 | 66% | 1,718 | 13 | 5 | 95.1 |
| Justin Herbert, LAC | 215 | 326 | 66% | 2,190 | 14 | 5 | 93.0 |
| Derek Carr, L.V. | 168 | 259 | 65% | 2,101 | 11 | 7 | 92.8 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 173 | 261 | 66% | 1,671 | 12 | 5 | 91.3 |
| Daniel Jones, NYG | 112 | 176 | 64% | 1,277 | 4 | 1 | 90.6 |
| Kyler Murray, Ariz. | 185 | 279 | 66% | 1,841 | 10 | 5 | 89.3 |
| Matt Ryan, Atl. | 196 | 310 | 63% | 2,119 | 14 | 7 | 88.9 |
| Cam Newton, N.E. | 112 | 177 | 63% | 1,240 | 6 | 3 | 88.2 |
| Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 203 | 320 | 63% | 1,869 | 15 | 6 | 87.1 |
| Teddy Bridgewater, Car. | 156 | 235 | 66% | 1,627 | 6 | 5 | 85.9 |
| Jared Goff, LAR | 184 | 268 | 69% | 1,807 | 7 | 7 | 85.2 |
| Tua Tagovailoa, Mia. | 152 | 238 | 64% | 1,464 | 8 | 5 | 83.4 |
| Brandon Allen, | 90 | 142 | 63% | 925 | 5 | 4 | 82.0 |
| Alex Smith, Was. | 135 | 203 | 67% | 1,220 | 5 | 5 | 80.5 |
| Sam Darnold, NYJ | 105 | 173 | 61% | 1,163 | 6 | 5 | 80.2 |
| Mike Glennon, | 111 | 179 | 62% | 1,072 | 7 | 5 | 80.1 |
| Nick Mullens, S.F. | 142 | 228 | 62% | 1,585 | 8 | 9 | 78.2 |
| Jalen Hurts, Phi. | 77 | 148 | 52% | 1,061 | 6 | 4 | 77.6 |
| Drew Lock, Den. | 146 | 252 | 58% | 1,693 | 10 | 9 | 76.7 |
| Carson Wentz, Phil. | 73 | 132 | 55% | 737 | 4 | 3 | 72.1 |
—Ian Allan