Philip Rivers: how a 44-year-old grandpa nearly pulled off one of the NFL’s greatest comebacks

The Colts quarterback was coaching high school football before his surprise return. And he showed brains are almost important as brawn at his position

Is quarterback the most demanding position in sports? It's close enough to make no difference: players must memorize a complicated playbook, orchestrate an entire offense, scan for open receivers while 280lb opponents sprint toward them with violent intent, and then thread a pass to a target who could be 30 yards downfield amid a crowd of defenders. Now try doing all that as a 44-year-old grandfather, exactly 1,800 days since you last started an NFL game.

Philip Rivers broke that historic streak for the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. The longest layoff before then belonged to another 44-year-old quarterback who returned to action after years out of the game, and some time in coaching - Steve Deberg for the Atlanta Falcons in 1998.