The AFC South is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable divisions in football. With three teams still very much in the hunt, the Jacksonville Jaguars lead the way at 9-4, but the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts are right on their heels at 8-5.
It’s a logjam at the top-and then there’s Tennessee. At 2-11, the Titans are the only team in the division that’s clearly out of the mix.
But the real headline this week? The Colts.
A team that was once riding momentum is now scrambling to stay afloat in the playoff race. It’s been a brutal stretch in Indianapolis, and it all starts with a string of devastating injuries and a gamble that hasn’t paid off.
Let’s start with the Sauce Gardner trade. The Colts went all-in, sending two first-round picks to the Jets for the All-Pro corner.
On paper, it was a bold move to shore up the secondary and make a serious postseason push. But Gardner’s multi-week injury has left a gaping hole in the defense, and the ripple effect has been noticeable.
Then came Sunday-and another gut punch. Quarterback Daniel Jones, who was quietly putting together a solid bounce-back campaign and was in the mix for Comeback Player of the Year, suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
That’s a tough break for a player on an expiring contract, especially given the context: Jones had already been playing through a broken fibula. There are real questions to be asked about how the team handled his availability.
And it doesn’t stop there. Anthony Richardson, the team’s electric young quarterback, has been sidelined for about two months with a bizarre, self-inflicted eye injury suffered during a workout.
While there’s been no official word on his status, the silence is deafening. It’s starting to feel like the Colts may have already moved on.
With Jones out and Richardson unavailable, the Colts turned to rookie Riley Leonard in Week 14. The sixth-rounder showed flashes, but his time under center was short-lived-he exited with a knee injury and is now week-to-week.
That brings us to the most unexpected twist of all.
With no healthy quarterbacks on the roster and a playoff berth still within reach, the Colts reached deep into the past. On Monday evening, they worked out 44-year-old Philip Rivers-and signed him to the practice squad.
Yes, that Philip Rivers. The same one who last played in 2020, leading the Colts to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance in what was supposed to be his NFL swan song.
Since then, he’s been coaching high school football and enjoying retirement. But now?
He’s back in the building.
This reunion isn’t coming out of nowhere. Colts head coach Shane Steichen spent nearly a decade with Rivers during their time together with the Chargers, including a stint as his offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020. That familiarity could be key in getting Rivers up to speed quickly-because if he’s going to play, it’ll have to happen fast.
The move says a lot about where the Colts are right now. With the quarterback market thin-names like Mike White, Bailey Zappe, and Trevor Siemian were among the few realistic options-Rivers might actually offer more upside, even at 44. Other potential veterans, like former Titans QB Ryan Tannehill, haven’t played since 2023 and may not have the same system familiarity.
It’s a wild situation in Indy. A team that looked like a dark horse contender now finds itself turning to a retired quarterback to keep the playoff dream alive.
But in this league, especially in December, stranger things have happened. And if Rivers can recapture even a bit of that 2020 magic, the Colts just might have one more surprise left in them.