Seahawks outlast Philip Rivers and Colts 18-16 on Jason Myers' 56-yard field goal

SEATTLE (AP) — Jason Myers has quietly been a big part of the Seattle Seahawks' success this season.

He was the only reason they won Sunday.

Myers kicked a franchise-record six field goals, including a 56-yarder with 29 seconds left, and the Seahawks outlasted 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts 18-16 without scoring a touchdown.

“I hit it well,” Myers said. “A little slice there, but once I got it up, I knew (I) hit a really strong ball.”

Myers has converted 24 of his last 25 field goals, with the only miss a 61-yard try on Nov. 16, and he leads the NFL with a career-best 154 points.

He also converted from 47, 52, 46, 32 and 30 yards, and the Seahawks (11-3) needed every one of them to beat Rivers, who hadn't thrown a pass in an NFL game in nearly five years. Seattle extended its winning streak to four games.

Indy trailed for just 1:58 and went ahead 13-3 on Rivers’ first touchdown pass since the Colts’ 27-24 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs on Jan. 9, 2021. He connected with Josh Downs on third down for an 8-yard score.

“It was exciting,” Rivers said. “Shoot, it was exciting to take a 13-3 lead. But first off, our play that we kind of had all week in the red zone in that area on that down and distance on that hash, we practiced in the exact same spot this week. So, when things go like that, they fire you up. Obviously, you throw in the fact that it’s been 1,800 days since throwing a touchdown or interception for that matter. So, yeah, both of those boxes were checked.”

Desperate to salvage their season after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon, the Colts (8-6) turned to Rivers, a grandfather who’d been coaching high school football and was a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Rivers also led the Colts into position for Blake Grupe’s go-ahead, 60-yard field goal with 47 seconds left. He finished 18 of 27 for 120 yards with the touchdown and an interception, with the pick coming on his final pass as he tried to force the ball down the field in the closing seconds. Coby Bryant made the interception, his career-high fourth this season.

“He actually played pretty well,” Bryant said. “They got the ball out fast, we knew that, on screens, and we knew about the run game as well, too. So, we had to respect everything and just play our ball.”

Indianapolis has lost four straight and five of six to fall out of playoff position in the AFC.

The Seahawks, who had won their previous two games by a combined score of 63-9, grinded this one out.

Rashid Shaheed returned Grupe’s kickoff 28 yards to the Seattle 37, and Sam Darnold connected with Shaheed twice for 25 yards to set up Myers. The game-winning drive was Darnold’s third this season and 13th of his career.

Darnold finished 22 of 36 for 271 yards in Seattle’s first victory without a touchdown since Dec. 26, 2024, when the Seahawks beat Chicago 6-3.

Seattle remained tied with the Los Angeles Rams atop the NFC West, and the rivals meet Thursday night for the division lead.

“It gives us a lot of momentum,” offensive lineman Grey Zabel said. “It’s obviously a lot easier to celebrate a tough win than it is to try to come into the locker room and pick our spirits up after a loss. I’m glad we have Jason Myers on our squad.”

NFL receiving leader Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was held below 100 yards in each of the last two weeks, had seven catches for 113 yards, including a 39-yard catch to set up Myers’ fifth field goal, which put the Seahawks ahead 15-13.

“It means a lot,” Smith-Njigba said. “Taking care of my body and making sure I’m here for my teammates, that’s what I want to do. Honestly, I could care less about any stat right now. I just want to win.”

NFL rushing leader Jonathan Taylor had 25 carries for 87 yards, his most since he had 244 on Nov. 9 against Atlanta, when Indy was still riding high. The Seahawks were happy to hold him to 3.5 yards per carry.

“That was big,” linebacker Ernest Jones IV said. “We knew coming in they were going to try to lean on his arm, the whole game. We knew they were going to try to use him a bunch. So, we knew coming in to just make sure we stop him. If anything, all 11 heads to the ball, and let’s hit him hard.”

Shaheed had just four catches for 34 yards in his first four games with the Seahawks after they acquired him from New Orleans. Over the last two games, he has combined for 12 catches and 141 yards — including seven receptions for 74 yards Sunday.

“He came in clutch, that’s what we expect for him to get open, and he does that,” Smith-Njigba said. “He runs great routes and he’s somebody we rely on and we can depend on him, so it’s awesome.”

Colts: Offensive lineman Bernhard Raimann injured an elbow in the second quarter and did not return.

Seahawks: LB Derick Hall injured his hand in the first quarter and returned in the second quarter. T Abe Lucas injured his right arm/shoulder in the second half but returned.

Colts: Host San Francisco on Monday, Dec. 22.

Seahawks: Host the Rams on Thursday night.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) looks to throw during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) tries to throw under pressure from Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas II (25) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) walks off the field after throwing an interception in the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)

Seattle Seahawks place-kicker Jason Myers (5) kicks the game-winning field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for California schools to tell parents if their children identify as transgender without getting the student's approval, granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group.

The order blocks for now a state law that bans automatic parental notification requirements if students change their pronouns or gender expression at school.

The split decision comes after religious parents and educators challenged California school policies aimed at preventing schools from outing students to their families. Two sets of Catholic parents represented by the Thomas More Society say it caused schools to mislead them and secretly facilitate the children's social transition despite their objections.

California, on the other hand, argued that students have the right to privacy about their gender expression, especially if they fear rejection from their families. The state said that school policies and state law are aimed at striking a balance with parents’ rights.

The high court majority, though, sided with the parents and reinstated a lower-court order blocking the law and school policies while the case continues to play out.

“The parents who assert a free exercise claim have sincere religious beliefs about sex and gender, and they feel a religious obligation to raise their children in accordance with those beliefs. California’s policies violate those beliefs,” and burden the free exercise of religion, the majority wrote in an unsigned order.

The court's three liberal justices publicly dissented, saying the case is still working its way through lower courts and there was no need to step in now. “If nothing else, this Court owes it to a sovereign State to avoid throwing over its policies in a slapdash way, if the Court can provide normal procedures. And throwing over a State’s policy is what the Court does today,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote.

Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, meanwhile, noted they would have gone further and granted teachers' appeal to lift restrictions for them.

The Thomas More Society called the decision “the most significant parental rights ruling in a generation.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office defended the law, saying teachers should be focused on instruction, not required “to be gender cops.”

The order “undermines student privacy and the ability to learn in a safe and supportive classroom, free from discrimination based on gender identity,” said Marissa Saldivar, a spokesperson for the Democratic governor.

The Supreme Court has ruled for religious plaintiffs in other recent cases, including allowing parents to pull their children from public-school lessons if they object to storybooks with LGBTQ+ characters.

The California order comes months after the court upheld state bans on gender-identity-related healthcare for minors. The justices also seem to be leaning toward allowing states to ban transgender athletes from playing on girls sports teams.

School policies for transgender students, meanwhile, have also been on the court’s radar in other cases.

The court rebuffed another similar case out of Wisconsin in December, but three conservative justices indicated they would have heard the case. Justice Samuel Alito called the school policies “an issue of great and growing national importance.”

The Trump administration, meanwhile, found in January that California's policies violated parents' right to access their children's education records. The Justice Department also sued after determining the states' transgender athlete policies violate federal civil rights law.

FILE - The Supreme Court is photographed, Feb. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)