Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
The Indianapolis Colts need some help to reach the playoffs, regardless of whether they defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That means their season could come to a close Sunday, and veteran quarterback Philip Rivers acknowledged Wednesday that it could be his last game ever:
Here are the Colts’ playoff scenarios heading into Week 17:
- Win/tie and Titans loss (wins AFC South)
- Win and Titans loss/tie (wins AFC South)
- Win and Ravens loss/tie (clinches wild-card berth)
- Win and Browns loss/tie (clinches wild-card berth)
- Win and Dolphins loss/tie (clinches wild-card berth)
- Tie and Ravens, Browns or Dolphins loss (clinches wild-card berth)
Rivers, 39, has had a solid season for the Colts, throwing for 4,005 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 68.3 percent of his passes.
He has solidified the Colts’ quarterback position after they endured an up-and-down year with Jacoby Brissett last season, but they will eventually need to add a franchise player at quarterback. (Perhaps a Frank Reich reunion with Carson Wentz would make sense?)
Until then, the 10-5 Colts have a real chance of making the postseason if they get some help. Rivers told reporters Wednesday that he’d be watching the results trickle in from around the league before the team’s 4:25 p.m. ET start Sunday:
“My normal mode when we play the 4 o’clock game, I kind of flip through the Sunday Ticket on my phone. So to say I won’t be doing that will be a lie. I won’t be consumed with it, but I’ll be aware. To try to pretend like you’re not going to know the outcome of those games is probably unrealistic. But I don’t think it needs to consume our locker room.”
All the Colts can do is handle their business against the Jags, in a game that could possibly be Rivers’ last.
