Philip Rivers is coming off of a rather inauspicious 2019 NFL campaign in which he threw 23 touchdowns and 20 interceptions during his final season with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Now, Rivers is taking his talents to Indianapolis, where he will hope to lead the Colts back to the playoffs.
But is it too late for the 38 year old?
The truth is, no one — not even Rivers himself — knows how Rivers will perform in 2020. Maybe he just had a bad year this past season, or perhaps it was symptomatic of Father Time catching up to the veteran.
Who knows.
We won't be able to find out until the regular season begins. Until then, all we can do is prognosticate about how Rivers will do in his new digs.
So, what would a successful season for Rivers even look like in 2020?
Well, for starters, it would involve a whole lot less turnovers.
It's not like the Chargers were short on weapons in 2019. In fact, they probably had more weapons than this current Colts squad does. Keenan Allen. Mike Williams. Hunter Henry. Melvin Gordon. Austin Ekeler. There was no shortage of talent.
One of the main reasons why Los Angeles won just five games in spite of entering the year with Super Bowl aspirations was because Rivers threw so many interceptions.
Now, in his defense, he did not exactly have great protection up front. Left tackle Russell Okung missed some time due to a pulmonary embolism, and a neck injury knocked center Mike Pouncey out after just five games.
As a result, LA had one of the worst offensive lines in football, which certainly affected the amount of time Rivers had in the pocket. At his current age, Rivers has lost quite a bit of mobility, so he can't improvise as easily as he once did. Plus, it's not like Rivers was ever really Kyler Murray or Daniel Jones anyway.
Couple that with Rivers' decline in arm strength, and it's clear why he had a rather rough 2019.
Fortunately for Rivers, Indianapolis has one of the NFL's best offensive lines, and while the Colts may not have the weapons the Chargers do, they aren't bereft of them either. T.Y. Hilton is a terrific receiver, and running back Marlon Mack and tight end Jack Doyle are fairly underrated at their respective positions.
So really, what Rivers needs to do is keep his turnovers down and extend drives. He doesn't have to hit the home run. He can just hit his targets on short and intermediate routes, much like Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
It would also be nice to see Rivers lead Indy to the playoffs, especially in an AFC South that is entirely up for grabs.
By the numbers, a successful season for Rivers would be in the realm of around 4,000 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10-12 picks while leading the Colts to 10 wins and a division title.
After all, this is why Indianapolis brought Rivers aboard in the twilight of his career: to make it back to the postseason. Anything less than that would be a disappointment.
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