Philip Rivers on another NFL season: ‘Whatever God’s will is’

If Saturday’s playoff contest against the Buffalo Bills turns out to be Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers’ final NFL game, he went out making history, although on the wrong side of it.

The Bills’ 27-24 victory in the opening game of the NFL’s Super Wild-Card Weekend was the first postseason contest in league history with two 300-yard passers and no turnovers.

Rivers completed 27-of-46 passes for 309 yards with two touchdowns, and he completed a 2-point conversion pass with 6:13 to play to pull the Colts within three points of the lead. Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen completed 26-of-35 passes for 324 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Allen also ran for 54 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.

After 16 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Rivers signed a one-year, $25 million contract with the Colts as a free agent in March. The former Athens High School star completed 369-of-543 passes for 4,169 yards with 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in the 2020 regular season. He ranks fifth in NFL history in completions, passing yards and touchdown passes.

The first question during Rivers’ postgame press conference: Have you decided if you’re playing next season?

“No, it’s not that easy,” Rivers said. “I don’t go this route with that answer often, but I think that probably sums it up. Whatever God’s will is for me and my family, if it’s here in Indy playing another year then we’ll be here, and if it’s not, I’ll be on the sidelines with a ballcap coaching the heck out of a high school football team down in south Alabama. Whatever God’s will is is what I want to happen, and I’ll be fine with that. Obviously, if I go on and on with that answer, it’ll be nothing but a bunch of emotion talking. I think at the end of the day that’s clearly what will guide the decision.”

Rivers is scheduled to become the football coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope when he retires from the NFL.

Colts coach Frank Reich said he hoped Rivers would return for the 2021 season.

“Philip’s a great player,” Reich said. “I have a great relationship with him. He’s a great leader on this team. Those things will have time to work themselves out. He’s got a one-year contract. Obviously, a lot of stuff that goes into that decision, but very excited. He exceeded expectations in my mind about what he was bringing to the field on and off the field.”

Except for a kneel-down to end the first half, every Indianapolis possession reached Buffalo territory. But the Colts were stopped on downs at the Bills 4-yard line in the second quarter and missed a 33-yard field-goal attempt in the third quarter. Indianapolis had drives of nine, eight, 14 and 13 plays that ended without points.

“We took care of the football,” Rivers said. “We were 53 percent on third down, which is a win. But we didn’t score in the red zone, and that was obviously the difference in the game. Kicked a field goal on the second drive. Didn’t get a touchdown on the fourth down. Missed a field goal. You look at those, there you go right there. That’s the difference in the game because we had 470 yards of offense, two penalties, no turnovers. We played good. We played good, but we didn’t play good enough.”

Nine other players from Alabama high schools and colleges were at the Indianapolis-Buffalo game:

· Mario Addison (Tarrant, Troy) started at right defensive end for the Bills. Addison made three tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage.

· Ryan Kelly (Alabama) started at center for the Colts.

· Bills safety Siran Neal (Eufaula, Jacksonville State) played but did not record any stats.

· Braden Smith (Auburn) started at right offensive tackle for the Colts.

· Colts cornerback Tremon Smith (Saks) played but did not record any stats.

· Colts defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth (Murphy) made one tackle.

· Levi Wallace (Alabama) started at right cornerback for the Bills. Wallace made three tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and forced a fumble.

· Bills wide receiver Duke Williams (Auburn) was designated as a game-day inactive. With wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley listed as questionable to play on the Buffalo injury report on Friday, the Bills activated Williams from their practice squad on Saturday as insurance. But Diggs and Beasley played on Saturday. Diggs caught six passes for 128 yards and one touchdown, and Beasley had seven receptions for 57 yards.

· Bills running back T.J. Yeldon (Daphne, Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive. Yeldon came off reserve/COVID-19 on Wednesday.

After earning its first postseason victory in 25 years, 10 days, Buffalo will find out its Divisional Round opponent based on the results of the other two AFC playoff games.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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