Philip Rivers' return to an NFL field came in the blink of an eye, and it nearly produced a storybook ending for all of Alabama to write about.

Signed by the Indianapolis Colts this past week and activated to the main roster Saturday night, Rivers made his first NFL start since the 2021 wild card game against the Buffalo Bills in an 18-16 loss this weekend to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 15.

Rivers was emotional when commenting on his return after the game.

"Grateful," he said. "Running out there for warmups and all that, for the anthem and as the game got going. Grateful that I was out there. It was a blast, but obviously the emotions now are disappointment. This isn't about me; we got a team that was scrapping like crazy to stay alive and get in the postseason."

Currently the head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Fairhope, Rivers was called into the spotlight after Daniel Jones' replacement and Fairhope High alum Riley Leonard was sidelined with an injury. The move came days after the now 18-year NFL veteran worked out for the Colts earlier in the week, just a few weeks removed from coaching his son in a high school playoff game on the Eastern Shore.

The 44-year-old completed 18 of 27 passes for 120 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception in a showing that was better than most would have expected. Rivers tossed his first touchdown pass in nearly five years just before halftime, connecting with Josh Downs to give Indianapolis a 13-3 lead.

"It was exciting to take a 13-3 lead — and you throw in the fact that it's been 1,800 days since I have thrown a touchdown, or an interception for that matter. So we got both of those boxes checked," Rivers said.

Seattle rallied in the second half, but Rivers steadied the Colts late — with less than two minutes remaining, he engineered a seven-play drive that set up Blake Grupe's 60-yard field goal to put Indianapolis ahead 16-15 with under a minute left to play.

However, the Seahawks answered with a quick drive into field goal range for a 56-yard try that went through the uprights with 18 seconds left to reclaim the lead and spoil Rivers' comeback.

Rivers said after the game that "things will get better," noting he had just three days of practice. The league's oldest player will return to St. Michael to coach in 2026 but not before attempting a playoff run with the 8-6 Colts, who fell to third place in the AFC South with the loss. Next week, Indianapolis returns to Lucas Oil Stadium to face the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.