Philip Rivers hadn't played an NFL game in 5 years. The grandfather nearly upset a Super Bowl contender.

Playing his first NFL game in 1,800 days, 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers threw a touchdown Sunday for the Indianapolis Colts while nearly upsetting a Super Bowl contender.

Playing his first NFL game in 1,800 days, 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers threw a touchdown Sunday for the Indianapolis Colts while nearly upsetting a Super Bowl contender.

Rivers completed 18 of his 27 passes for 120 yards and led a drive that put the Colts ahead with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter before Seattle kicked a go-ahead field goal to win 18-16.

Rivers and the Colts got the ball back for one final opportunity 70 yards from the end zone with 11 seconds to go in regulation, but the drive’s first play was also its last. A deep throw by Rivers down the middle of the field went over his intended receiver’s head and was intercepted, sealing Seattle’s win.

Rivers, a father of 10 and a grandfather, started for Indianapolis weeks after being named a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and just five days after having come out of retirement to sign with the Colts after injuries had devastated their quarterbacks.

Rivers joined Tom Brady, Vinny Testaverde, Warren Moon, Steve DeBerg and George Blanda as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to play at age 44 or older.