Colts HC Shane Steichen makes major Philip Rivers decision for Week 18 vs. Texans after being eliminated from playoff picture

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen made a final call on who will start against the Houston Texans in the season finale on Sunday. The Colts brought in Philip Rivers to replace Daniel Jones after the former New York Giants star suffered a season-ending Achilles injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14.

Rivers played three games, posting decent numbers, but not winning a single game. Once the Colts were officially out of playoff contention, Steichen said he would ponder his options at quarterback for the Week 18 duel.

On Wednesday, the coach confirmed rookie Riley Leonard will start against the Texans. Leonard originally replaced Jones when he went down, going 18 of 29 for 145 yards with one interception.

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Philip Rivers played three games. He made his shocking debut against the Seattle Seahawks (18 of 28 for 120 yards and one touchdown) in Week 15, before taking on the San Francisco 49ers (23 of 35 for 277 yards and two touchdowns) and the Jaguars (17 of 30 for 147 yards and one touchdown), respectively.

Indianapolis looked like a solid candidate to come out of the AFC in the first half of the season, but their level decreased in the second half, and Daniel Jones' devastating injury didn't help their plans, either.

Also read: Colts make major Philip Rivers decision for Week 18 vs. Texans after being eliminated from playoff contention

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Colts' Philip Rivers praised Riley Leonard ahead of Week 18 duel

Philip Rivers gave his flowers to Riley Leonard after Sunday's game. The 44-year-old didn't hold back on the rookie quarterback's potential.

"Riley is a pro,” Rivers said. “Riley is going to work at it hard, and obviously I don’t want to put a ceiling on anything that he can do, and certainly will always continue to pull for him. “But I said before he ever got drafted, or even early on when he was at Notre Dame, when I got to be with him and some of his guys, I was like, ‘He’s going to be a double-digit guy in the NFL.’ To what extent that is, who knows, right? Is he a starter? He’s one of those guys that is talented enough throwing it, and he’s obviously athletic enough to run around and he’s going to work at it because he cares enough about it that he’s going to be around somewhere for a long time.”

Edited by Orlando Silva