For a few moments, it looked like Philip Rivers would cap a whirlwind week by celebrating his first win as a Colt since 2020 but the Seahawks and kicker Jason Myers had something to say about it.
Rivers made a key completion to wide receiver Alec Pierce on a third down after the two minute warning to keep a Colts drive alive and the Seahawks used all three of their timeouts before Colts kicker Blake Grupe nailed a 60-yard kick to put his team up 16-15 with 47 seconds to play. Seahawks kick returner Rashid Shaheed returned the ensuing kickoff to the 37-yard line and then caught a pass from Sam Darnold to move the ball across midfield.
The two players picked up eight more yards a couple of plays later and Jason Myers was called on for the sixth time on the afternoon. Myers hit all six and the 56-yarder put the Seahawks up 18-16 with 18 seconds to play.
Rivers got a chance to air one out in a last-ditch attempt to pull off the upset, but safety Coby Bryant snatched it out of the air to preserve Seattle’s 11th win of the season. The victory means that next week’s home game against the Rams will be for first place in the NFC West.
The Colts are now 8-6 and their fourth straight loss leaves them with very slim playoff chances. Rivers did his best to keep that from happening and threw a touchdown pass that helped the team to a 13-6 halftime lead, but the Colts couldn’t move the ball in the second half. Their defense was able to keep Seattle out of the end zone, but the Seahawks got points on four of their first five possessions in the second half and that proved to be too much for the Colts to overcome.
Rivers was 18-of-27 for 120 yards while Darnold was 22-of-36 for 271 yards. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba kept his stellar season going with seven catches for 113 yards, but the Seahawks could never get their run game going on Sunday. That will likely need to change to beat the Rams in what will be a marquee matchup in Week 16.
