Philip Rivers Picks, Predictions & Best Bets for Colts vs Seahawks

As far as 40-year-old athletes go, I’m doing alright.

I still play basketball twice a week, frig around with ultimate frisbee, and take to the lake for some hockey with my kids every winter.

That said, I pop Advil like Skittles. I have to “take it easy” unloading the dish washer. And my theme music might as well be Annie Lennox’s “Walking on Broken Glass”, as ankles and knees painfully click and crack with my first few steps each morning.

So, there’s part of me that’s really rooting for Philip Rivers… and there’s part of me that can’t f-ing fathom why the 44-year-old quarterback would come out of retirement to play for the Indianapolis Colts in Week 15.

If we’ve got to sit through Rivers’ return, we might as well bet on it and FanDuel is offering Philip Rivers odds on a number of player prop markets.

Here are my best Philip Rivers picks and Colts vs. Seahawks predictions for December 14.

Philip Rivers prop pick

Philip Rivers best bet: Under 27.5 Pass Attempts (-132 at FanDuel)

First off, Philip Rivers may not even see the field if rookie Riley Leonard can get over a knee injury. Second, if Rivers does start, there’s a good shot he may not finish the game considering the competition.

The Indianapolis Colts take on the Seattle Seahawks vaunted defense, which is fueled by a nasty four-man rush generating the second highest pressure rate, second most QB hurries, fourth most QB hits, and fourth most sacks on the season.

Even in his prime, Rivers was a less-than-mobile quarterback and was notorious for refusing to run QB sneaks, leaving the dirty work to backup Jacoby Brissett. Mix in some classic PNW weather - rain, wind, and temperatures in the low 50s – and Rivers’ joints will be aching long before the Seahawks get to him.

Asking a grandfather to stand in the pocket against this Seahawks pass rush is borderline negligible, no matter how much you’re paying him. It’s safe to say Indy running back Jonathan Taylor will have a very busy day. 

Before losing Daniel Jones to a torn Achilles last week, Indianapolis was already limited at the quarterback position. 

Jones was battling through a fractured fibula and threw only 27 passes in a loss to Houston in Week 13. He made it just seven throws into last week’s game before getting hurt against Jacksonville.

But prior to coming up lame, Jones' participation in the offense was hit and miss. He averaged 31 pass attempts in the first 11 games of the schedule, throwing less than 30 times in six of those outings. 

That was a QB who was with the team all spring, summer and regular season and building chemistry and connections with his teammates. Rivers is literally coming off the couch in Fairhope, Alabama which might as well be a galaxy away from Lumen Field on Sunday.

I don’t give a shit if Rivers is running Shane Steichen’s playbook with his son’s high school team. He’s not the first or second option and he’s reluctantly the third – facing a defense that ranks second best in opponent third down conversions (32.6%).

For those player projection models actually folding Rivers into the forecast, the veteran QB is expected to attempt between 14.6 and 16.8 passes. But who the hell knows how accurate those projections are. We’re in unchartered waters in Week 15.

While I’m not optimistic about Rivers’ results versus Seattle, I hope for him the same thing I hope for myself every time I do something a 40-plus man shouldn’t be doing: Just don’t get hurt.

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Philip Rivers same-game parlay

Seattle Seahawks -13.5

Philip Rivers Under 152.5 passing yards

Rashid Shaheed anytime touchdown

+801 at FanDuel

The Seahawks can win this one on defense and special teams. But as bad as the Colts QB situation is, the defense is almost in worst shape.
 
I don’t know if Rivers will get enough touches or playing time to go Over any of his passing yard props. He won’t have much time in the pocket to strike down field.

Shaheed is heating up as he finds his way since joining Seattle at the trade deadline. He’s great at burning coverage in one-on-one and Indy runs the most man Shaheed has seen since joining Seattle.

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