Week 15 would seem to be shaping up too well for the Seattle Seahawks to get a victory against the Indianapolis Colts. Indy will be without key defensive starters and will be playing 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers in his first game back in five years.
The scary part is that things in the NFL are rarely how they first appear. Rivers might not have played in a long time and is admittedly nowhere in the kind of shape he was when he originally retired in 2020, but he is still a smart player who will know how to get the most out of his weapons with the Colts.
That includes running back Jonathan Taylor, who is also a good receiver. Screen passes can be productive against the great Seahawks defense, and Taylor having running room after catching a pass would be frightening.
The Seattle Seahawks need to prove Ryan Clark correct in Week 15
Still, former player-turned-analyst Ryan Clark is no believer in what Indianapolis is trying to do. Not only does he think the Seahawks will win, but he thinks Indianapolis might be risking Rivers to great harm. He said as much on ESPN's First Take ahead of Week 15.
"I believe this is incompetent," Clark said. "And I also believe it is irresponsible. This is not Michael Jordan coming back to play basketball after three years off for the Washington Wizards. This is a man in Phillip Rivers who was always a stationary target, taking five years off to coach high school football and then coming back to play against the Seattle Seahawks, who would get after your keester if you were freaking Michael Vick.
Partly, what else were the Indianapolis Colts going to do? The other options they had at quarterback the rest of the season were rookie Riley Leonard and failed veteran Brett Rypien. Neither was more likely to lead Indy to victories than even a rusty Rivers was.
For the Seattle Seahawks, the focus needs to be clear in Week 15. Head coach Mike Macdonald will almost certainly know this as well. The team needs to be able to take advantage of a Colts defense missing cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward and score enough points where even a surprisingly good Philip Rivers wouldn't matter.
Defensively, Seattle needs to play fundamentally sound football against an Indy offense likely to make a lot of short passes in hoping a few of those become explosive plays. Seattle will also need to be great against the run because Jonathan Taylor is capable of winning a game almost on his own. Just asked the Atlanta Falcons after Taylor had more than 280 total yards against them in Week 10.
One of the biggest NFL stories in Week 15 will be the return of Philip Rivers. The Seahawks simply need to prove Ryan Clark's points to be correct and make sure Rivers and the Colts don't leave Seattle with a dream ending.