The second game of the Philip Rivers reunion tour will be broadcast to a national audience.
Colts coach Shane Steichen told reporters on Monday that Rivers will start the Week 16 Monday night game against the 49ers.
The game has massive ramifications for the 8-6 Colts, who started 7-1 and have lost five of six games.
They gave the Seahawks a run for their money on Sunday, losing 18-16 after taking a 16-15 lead with 47 seconds to play.
Rivers, in his first game since the 2000 wild-card playoffs, completed 18 of 27 passes for 120 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He was sacked once.
The Colts are currently the No. 8 seed in the AFC postseason field. If the Colts fail to qualify, they’ll be the sixth team since the merger to start 7-1 or better and miss the playoffs — and the first to do so since the league expanded the tournament to seven teams per conference.
