The 2020 season has been a mostly fun ride for the Indianapolis Colts, with their decision to roll the dice on a Philip Rivers paying off far more often than not. The 39-year-old signed a one-year, $25 million deal with the club in free agency, following a divorce from the Los Angeles Chargers that saw his career end in southern California mostly due to incessant turnovers. That's been mostly cleaned up in Indy -- Rivers having thrown for 4,005 yards and 23 touchdowns to only 10 interceptions (he had 20 INTs last season) -- and the Colts are 10-5 because of it, along with his willingness to push through a foot injury that will likely require surgery to repair.
As he justifiably peeks at the offseason horizon to come, it doesn't sound like he's interested in retiring from the NFL. Instead, he's hoping the Colts see fit to slide another contract his way in a few weeks.
"Without speaking out of turn, it didn't make a huge difference to me if it was a two-year deal or a one-year thing," Rivers said of joining the Colts in 2020, via The Athletic. "I think that was just what was best for both sides. If I came in here and stunk it up, I was gonna be done anyway. It'd be like, 'Man, this is brutal, let me just go coach.' But if it went well, and we got in the playoffs and made a run, let's do it again."
Therein lies the rub, however, because the Colts need help to make the playoffs, despite potentially finishing with 11 wins.
Thanks to a Week 16 collapse against the Pittsburgh Steelers that saw them cough up a 17-point lead in the third quarter, Rivers and the Colts not only need to defeat the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars -- a team they lost to in the season opener -- but they'll also need one of the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Miami Dolphins or Tennessee Titans to lose. Should the Colts split the season series with the Jaguars but none of the aforementioned four clubs lose, the Colts will find themselves deep-couch sitting in January, despite an overall solid year from Rivers and the offense.
They would also be only the third team in NFL history to have 11 wins and miss the tournament.
As for Rivers, it's about assessing the landscape in front of him. His first mission is to finish the 2020 season with a win and at least give the Colts a shot at playing in January, and the second is to sit with his looming decision. What is already crystal clear is his want of a potential mulligan in Indianapolis -- something that would decide his future for him.
"I don't want to speak in absolutes because there is still dust to be settled, whenever this season ends, and I'll talk about it with my family," he said. "And the Colts have their side, but I still feel the same way. I hope there is a Year 2 [in Indianapolis]. I think I'm really gonna want to play again."