The Indianapolis Colts signed Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers to a one-year, $25 million contract on Saturday.
For the Houston Texans, it means they will have to face another formidable signal caller in a Colts uniform, as if Houston hasn’t had enough with Peyton Manning (1998-2011) and Andrew Luck (2012-18).
Rivers owns a 2-3 career record against the Texans. Ahead of Houston’s Week 3 encounter with the Los Angeles Chargers, Texans coaches and players shared their thoughts on the former 2004 first-round pick from North Carolina State.
Rivers is never out of games
Texans two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson knows that going against Rivers means that the opposition will be going hard for the whole 60 minutes.
“Philip has been doing a heck of a job throwing for thousands and thousands of yards, many touchdowns,” Watson told reporters on Sept. 18, 2019. “He’s a gunslinger who’s going to toss it up and give his playmakers a chance, and he’s very confident. He’s never out of games, he’s always intense and leading that team. You can tell that he wants to win a lot and he wants to score a lot of points.”
Watson’s side beat Rivers’ team 27-20 with the former 2017 first-round pick completing 25-of-34 for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Even though Watson had a better stat line than Rivers and beat him head-to-head, Watson still believes Rivers is a player he can learn from.
“He’s definitely a guy, one of those veteran guys that any of the young quarterbacks in this league should be able to look at and can learn something from him,” said Watson.
Rivers hasn’t lost a beat
Assistant head coach Romeo Crennel, who was also the Texans’ defensive coordinator in 2019, didn’t see a drop off in play with Rivers. Crennel’s evaluation is relevant given he was about to coach against him for the 11th time either as a coach or a defensive coordinator.
“Some of the same things that have allowed him to be an eight-time pro bowler and still be playing in this game at a high level, he had those then and he still has them now,” Crennel said on Sept. 19, 2019.
If Rivers still has those same abilities, then the Texans will have to prepare for them twice a year.
Bill O’Brien tried to recruit Rivers in college
O’Brien was with Georgia Tech from 1995-2002, mostly working under coach George O’Leary from 1995 until his midseason firing in 2001.
Even though O’Brien was a running backs coach in 1999, he remembers O’Leary’s trying to recruit this gunslinger from Decatur, Alabama.
“When he was coming out of high school, I was at Georgia Tech, we were a part of recruiting him,” O’Brien told reporters on Sept. 18, 2019. “He went to N.C. State, I coached against him, I coached against him in his last home college game at N.C. State.”
O’Brien did have a chance to coach Rivers in the 2011 Pro Bowl when O’Brien was offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.
“I coached him in the Pro Bowl, which isn’t really coaching,” said O’Brien. “The Pro Bowl, you know how I feel about the Pro Bowl, but I got to know him at the Pro Bowl.
“Awesome guy, very smart, loves football, just a guy that loves talking about football and he’s just had a great career. It’s a big challenge for us.”
It will be a big challenge for the Texans twice a season. As long as the front office is loading up on pass rush and coverage talent in free agency and the draft, Houston should be ready to face any problems Rivers and the Colts present.
