INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Philip Rivers has made the postgame walk to answer tough questions dozens of times over his previous 17 NFL seasons.
This time seemed different.
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers jogs off the field following an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Mullens (14) talks with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) following an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws under pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars safety Eric Murray (29) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
With the Indianapolis Colts having been eliminated from the postseason for a fifth consecutive year even before Rivers and his teammates took the field Sunday, the 44-year-old Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist knows he may have taken his last snap.
“It’s been an absolute blast for three weeks and if I go back now and said, ‘All right, now you know everything that’s going to happen, what are you going to do? I’d do it all again,’” Rivers said after the Colts lost 23-17 to Jacksonville. “So, yeah, if it’s the last one, it’s the last one. I thought the last one was walking off the field in Buffalo (in January 2021), walking up that tunnel and I was fine with that. I had tears those few days after that and I was at peace with that being the last one. So, certainly, if it is (the last one), I got three more bonus games that I never saw coming.”
Rivers provided two elements the Colts (8-8) needed when they brought him out of a five-year retirement. His passion energized the locker room after Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon, and he gave the Colts a chance to pull themselves out of a historic second-half swoon in which they became just the sixth team since 1970 — and the first in 30 years — to start 8-2 and miss the playoffs.
But Rivers has lost all three of his starts, with the Colts' overall skid now at six games.
His late interception at Seattle ended the Colts' bid for a miracle rally. And an interception Sunday on a tipped ball allowed the Jags (12-4) to kick the tiebreaking field goal with 6:58 to play.
While Rivers took accountability for both miscues with his typical down-home demeanor, he knows he's not the face of the Colts' future.
So with one meaningless game remaining next weekend at Houston, the Colts could give Rivers one more start, but it might make sense for them to take a look at Anthony Richardson — the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2023 — or rookie Riley Leonard. Richardson has not been activated from the injured reserve list but has started practicing.
“I'll figure that out Tuesday,” coach Shane Steichen said.
If Rivers' career is over, again, five years after he left the first time, he has no regrets.
He rented a place in Indianapolis, moved his entire family back to Indy for the final month of the season and brought dozens of players from St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Alabama — where he's the head coach — to Lucas Oil Stadium to watch his home finale.
In career start No. 423, Rivers surpassed Hall of Famer Warren Moon as the fourth-oldest quarterback to start in the NFL. Rivers played at 44 years, 20 days; Moon was 44 years and eight days.
If he makes start No. 424, Rivers would pass Vinny Testaverde — 44 years and 26 days — as the third oldest, trailing only Steve DeBerg and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Rivers ranks sixth in league history in TD passes with 425 and is eighth on the career yards passing list with 63,984 — just behind Matthew Stafford and 105 yards away from moving past two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger.
Rivers knows he may not get that chance.
“I’m going to be on board and supportive of whatever the organization, Shane and whoever, however that decision is going to come to be,” Rivers said. “I’m sure I’ll have some conversation. It won’t just be a blind-side Tuesday conversation for me. And I’m going to be on board to do what’s best for the guys.”
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers jogs off the field following an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Mullens (14) talks with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) following an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) watches from the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws under pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars safety Eric Murray (29) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Trevor Lawrence took the Jacksonville Jaguars back to the playoffs with his nearly flawless work through the air.
On Sunday, he used his legs to put the Jags on the cusp of a division title.
Lawrence ran for two scores, Cam Little made a tiebreaking, 42-yard field goal with 6:58 to play, and the Jags beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 to move within one victory of their first AFC South crown since 2022.
“We are a very confident group. We feel like, ‘Why not us?’ We feel like it should be us,” Lawrence said. “We’ve got to go and finish the job next week. It’s a huge game — a division game to win the AFC South. We know what we have to do, and we know what we have ahead of us.”
Their celebration was put on hold for another week after two-time defending division champion Houston beat the Los Angeles Chargers 20-16 on Saturday. That result also eliminated the Colts (8-8) from the postseason.
Still, it didn’t diminish what the Jags (12-4) did Sunday.
Jacksonville won its seventh straight to remain one game ahead of the Texans. The Jags are also in the mix for the AFC's top seed under Liam Coen, who became the first coach to win 12 games after taking over a team that won four games the previous season.
Lawrence had a workmanlike performance, completing 23 of 37 passes for 263 yards — ending his streak of four straight games with 275 yards, two TDs and a passer rating over 100. He also threw his first interception in five weeks.
The numbers weren't important to Lawrence.
“We’ve got the confidence that when we play well, we can beat anybody,” he said. “Who cares who thinks who is the best team? We’ll actually have the chance to prove it. We’ll have our shot.”
Jackonville kept 44-year-old Colts quarterback Philip Rivers winless in three games since he returned to the league following a five-year retirement.
Indy (8-8) has lost six straight and seven of eight to become the sixth team since 1970 — and the first since the 1995 Oakland Raiders — to miss the postseason after starting 8-2.
“We were talking in there and I think the start, the hot start, is what probably makes this whole thing hurt even more,” Rivers said. “If it had been one of those kinds of back-and-forth years the whole year — you look up and you find a way to win eight, nine games and you go, ‘Shoot, just kind of a grinding kind of year.' But the fact they were at eight (wins) so soon and it's just been a tough last six-game stretch or so.”
Rivers went 17 of 30 for 147 yards with one TD and one interception. His pick set up Jacksonville's go-ahead score.
The fourth-oldest quarterback to start an NFL game relied on his wisdom to put Jacksonville in an early 10-0 hole. A long opening kickoff return by Ashton Dulin set up a field goal, and the Colts converted a Jags turnover into a 3-yard TD run from Jonathan Taylor.
Lawrence answered with a 4-yard TD run and again in the third quarter with a nifty 6-yard scoring run midway through the third quarter to make it 14-10.
Dulin's second long return, a 56-yarder, set up Rivers' 5-yard TD pass to Mo Alie-Cox that put Indy up 17-14 with 5:58 left in the third.
Then Little tied the score with a 34-yard field goal, broke the tie with his 42-yarder and extended the margin with a late 53-yarder before the Jags sealed it by intercepting Riley Leonard's final heave into the end zone.
More celebrations could be coming soon for the Jags.
“We haven’t addressed making the playoffs as a team,” Coen said. “We haven’t talked about goals, about the division, the conference, the Super Bowl, none of that. We’re focused on being 1-0 each week and keeping the mindset as singular as we can.”
Jaguars: Etienne rushed 17 times for 76 yards to surpass the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his four seasons. ... Parker Washington caught eight passes for 115 yards.
Colts: Taylor tied his single-season franchise records for TD runs (18) and total TDs (19), matching his totals from 2021. ... The Colts lost their final three home games after winning their first six, including a game in Berlin.
Indy receiver Michael Pittman Jr. left briefly in the first quarter with a calf injury, and two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner did not return after aggravating the calf injury that kept him out the previous three weeks.
Jaguars: Can win the division title with a victory over visiting Tennessee next weekend.
Colts: At Houston next weekend to conclude their fifth straight season without a playoff berth.
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (17) throws under pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars safety Eric Murray (29) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Indianapolis Colts linebacker Germaine Pratt (53) intercepts a pass intended for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) celebrates after scoring during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) scores past Indianapolis Colts safety Nick Cross (20) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Parker Washington (11) catches a pass as Indianapolis Colts cornerback Mekhi Blackmon (29) and safety Nick Cross (20) defend during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence scores past Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Adetomiwa Adebawore (95) and safety Camryn Bynum (0) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
