No, it’s not 2020. Philip Rivers is back — and potentially starting — in the NFL on Sunday.
The Indianapolis Colts sent shockwaves across the league when they signed the 44-year-old quarterback to their practice squad in hopes of saving their season. Rivers last played for the Colts in 2020 before retiring from a decorated career after that season.
Rivers going from coaching on the sidelines at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama to potentially facing a ferocious Seattle Seahawks defense fascinates our NFL writers Mike Sando, Jeff Howe and Zak Keefer.
A clash between two of the league’s best teams in the Green Bay Packers (9-3-1) and Denver Broncos (11-2) also intrigues our writers in this week’s roundtable, as both teams have a shot at another signature win and the top seed in their respective conferences.
And while other games have bigger playoff stakes than Cleveland Browns-Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams vs. Shedeur Sanders is certainly worth watching.
Read more below.
The Colts actually signed Philip Rivers to the practice squad. What are your general thoughts? Can he actually help vs. the Seahawks’ defense on the road? If he starts Sunday, is that even smart?
Sando: Desperate times call for desperate measures. Rivers is not going to be a consistently good QB at this stage of his life. However, he can be a calming influence and a great resource for a team rocked by losing its starting quarterback during a promising season. His signing shows the locker room that the coach and general manager are doing all they can. I think Rivers will have a very hard time in the games, especially the longer he is out there.
Howe: I didn’t think the Colts would be able to survive this final stretch if Daniel Jones were healthy, so I’m not optimistic Rivers will change anything after a five-year layoff. This isn’t like riding a bike. At least, I’ve never ridden a bike while Leonard Williams tried hitting me at full speed. It’s a fun story, but I don’t think Disney will be buying the rights.
Keefer: To me, this is very much two things: a valiant attempt to save what was once such a promising season, and secondly, a desperate move that’ll backfire spectacularly. In one sense, I can’t knock the Colts. They’ve still got a chance to make the playoffs for the first time in five years — coincidentally, the last time Rivers was their quarterback — and to sit on their hands and wave the white flag would be a slap in the face to guys like Zaire Franklin, Jonathan Taylor and Quenton Nelson. But let’s be real. A 44-year-old Rivers against one of the nastiest defenses in the league? This will get ugly.
Sunday is a huge opportunity for Drake Maye (vs. Bills) and Matthew Stafford (vs. Lions) to make a statement in the MVP race, which still feels open. Is it a two-man race between these QBs? Who else is in the mix, in your opinion? How does this year’s MVP race differ from others we’ve seen recently?
Sando: Josh Allen can become the betting favorite as early as Monday if he has a monster game for the Bills in a victory over the Patriots. It’s not such a stretch to think that will happen. So, it’s only a two-man race at the moment. We produced a video on this very subject that was published Friday. Check it out.
Howe: I’ve got Stafford in the lead for now, but Maye will sway me with a big stretch against the Bills and Ravens. Allen could still get involved, primarily because he’s got to play perfectly far too often to give the Bills a chance. Sam Darnold has a chance, too, if he can lead the Seahawks past the Rams next week. Don’t rule out Jordan Love if the Packers finish strong. This year’s race is more wide open with new blood than past seasons. Last year was all about Allen and Lamar Jackson, and Patrick Mahomes ran away with it in 2023. There’s been a big-time flavor of the week element this season with Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Jones and Taylor entering the conversation earlier this season.
Keefer: Allen remains, to me, the best football player in the world. A statement win over Maye and the Patriots on Sunday pushes him in front. Maye’s been excellent, no doubt, but no team in the league is as dependent, week-to-week, on one player quite like the Bills. I’m also with Jeff when it comes to Love. The Packers are suddenly looking like Super Bowl contenders, and if they unseat the Rams as the NFC’s top seed, he could climb into the conversation quickly.
Packers-Broncos features two teams in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences. This could be the week’s best game. Who makes the biggest difference?
Sando: Green Bay lost against the two best defenses it faced, those of Cleveland and Philadelphia (I put their Minnesota game in another bucket because it’s a divisional matchup where familiarity matters more). As much as we all know, Denver’s great record does not align with its so-so point differential. Have the Packers proven they can score against good defenses? I think this might be the game where it happens, but it’s more gut feel than anything.
Howe: This has to be a Love game. The Packers have won four in a row to make this an important game, and it’s going to be a challenge to win in Denver against a quality defense. But Love is clearly the better of the two quarterbacks, and he has to play like it. If the Packers can avoid another sleepy start and keep Love in rhythm, they should be able to reassert themselves as Super Bowl contenders. I want to see if Love can play the game on his terms against an unfamiliar opponent.
Keefer: Christian Watson has been the difference-maker for the Packers the last few weeks. His return has added an explosive element to the Green Bay offense that was lacking midseason — remember the two-game losing streak in which they scored a total of 20 points? The Packers have scored 59 in their last two against the Lions and Bears. I like Green Bay in this one, and I like Love outplaying Bo Nix.
Browns-Bears may not get too much attention amid the playoff race compared to other games, but Shedeur Sanders has four games under his belt and will start the rest of the season. Dane Brugler has mocked yet another QB to the Browns in 2026. Deshaun Watson will be back. Has Sanders shown anything worth building on in Cleveland?
Sando: He’s just getting started, and in general, I’ve been encouraged. He’s not taking tons of sacks, as some predicted he might. The more games he can play this season, the more information we can collect. I do think he has a chance to be the starter entering 2026. Some of that will hinge on whether Cleveland makes leadership changes in the offseason, but most depends on what Sanders shows on the field. We have to contextualize his production with that of other QBs in this offense recently. That bar is low.
Howe: Sanders is off to a nice start, and Kevin Stefanski and the staff deserve credit for bringing him along at an appropriate pace. His first start against the Raiders was about making a quick read and then either scrambling to extend the play or checking it down, which was a perfect strategy under the circumstances. They’re adding a little more each week. At minimum, Sanders has played himself into the competition in 2026. But regardless of what happens over the next month, if the Browns are in a position to draft a QB they like better, they should do it.
Keefer: Sanders has handled himself well over the last month, showing the signs of improvement that you want to see in any rookie quarterback. At the very least, he’s earned the right to finish this season and have a chance to compete for the starting job next year, even if the Browns take a quarterback in Round 1. One memorable game, like a win over the Bears on Sunday, would go a long way in solidifying his spot atop the depth chart heading into next season.
They need a lot of help, but the Dolphins (at Steelers on Monday night) are actually in the playoff hunt as winners of four straight. Does this late-season run change anything about the big-picture view of where this franchise is headed? Or is the win streak fool’s gold?
Sando: When the team fired its GM instead of firing its head coach, that signaled Mike McDaniel had a good shot at returning next season. McDaniel still could have lost the job if the team fell apart, but instead, the team has gone 4-0. I think McDaniel will be back, as will quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Perhaps the Dolphins keep Champ Kelly in the GM role (he’s the interim now) and then reevaluate after next season. That makes sense when you consider the team appears pot-committed to Tagovailoa, who has played his best ball under McDaniel.
Howe: There’s some fool’s gold with the streak, as they’ve beaten three consecutive teams that currently have 3-10 records. But I know the Dolphins entered the season really believing in Mike McDaniel’s vision. Then they got destroyed by injuries, particularly on defense. But if they win a couple more games and finish 8-9, isn’t that essentially in line with how they were perceived before the season? They also hung their hat on finishing 8-9 in 2024 after a 2-6 start, so it will say something about McDaniel that he rallied them yet again. To be fair, though, he deserves the same amount of criticism for another poor start if he’s going to be praised for the finish.
Keefer: McDaniel deserves credit. He has quietly kept this team afloat after a disastrous start. They’ve scraped together some ugly wins, but his team is playing for him, which is always a deeply important measuring stick for owners. The reality is this roster was deeply flawed, and there won’t be a quick fix this offseason. As Jeff mentioned, this team has faded in December and January too often under McDaniel. If he’s able to flip the script this winter, my bet is owner Stephen Ross will let him keep his job.