Colts
Colts QB Philip Rivers shocked the entire football world when he came out of retirement in the wake of QB Daniel Jones‘ season-ending injury. Rivers’ former teammate Antonio Gates believes the pursuit of a ring is a huge factor for the veteran and admits he would contemplate it if the Chargers asked him to play in a Super Bowl.
“We all would probably do it. If (the Chargers) were going into the Super Bowl and said, ‘Antonio Gates, do you want to come play? … Do you want to play this last Super Bowl game?’” Gates said, via James Boyd of The Athletic. “A part of me would still want to go train and get ready, because that’s the one chapter I couldn’t close in my sports career, so I think that’s the reason he’s doing it.”
One of Rivers’ former backups, Billy Volek, couldn’t say enough about Rivers’ intense preparation every single day, which has led to his success.
“Every game is like the Super Bowl for him,” Volek said. “Just the commitment that he puts into it, the time, the energy, the hours. We lived next to each other, and sometimes he’d pick me up at 4 a.m., sometimes 4:30, or I’d pick him up at 4:45. It’s just the grind that he has to be the best.”
“That’s why he’s my GOAT.”
Jaguars
Jacksonville had another big win in Week 16 after knocking off the Broncos in Denver to move to 11-4. Jaguars HC Liam Coen talked about the small-market narrative that originates from Broncos HC Sean Payton’s comments about them earlier in the week.
“Just thankful that a small-market team like us can come into a place like Mile High and get it done,” Coen said, via Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “We don’t care. We really don’t care about the narrative. I’m sorry to say that, but it’s only helping us. So I want the narrative to keep coming.”
Jaguars DE Travon Walker spoke on the team’s behalf and described their mentality with the lack of attention they get league-wide.
“Everybody in this locker room on the Jaguars team, even upstairs, we know everybody’s probably going to try to hop on this bandwagon now, but we don’t want anybody,” Walker said. “They can stay where they’re at. It’s us. It’s all about the Jags.”
- Jaguars P Logan Cooke was fined $15,555 for a leg whip, OT Anton Harrison was fined $11,593 for taunting, LS Ross Matiscik was fined $7,111 for pulling a player off the pile, S Andrew Wingard was fined $11,593 for stepping on an opponent, DT Brenton Strange was fined $8,709 for a leg whip, and DL Maason Smith was fined $10,124 for taunting.
Texans
Houston CB Derek Stingley Jr. scored his first NFL touchdown in Week 16 by returning an interception for a score in their win over the Raiders. Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said they emphasized takeaways leading up to the game and praised his star cornerback for having the awareness to return it for a touchdown.
“We challenged our defense to get a turnover in the first quarter,” Ryans said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC. “That hadn’t happened for us all year. For Sting to show up how he did and get not only a turnover but to go score, we needed points bad, and Stingley showed up and made a huge play for our team.”
“We needed that play. Stingley, outstanding awareness by him to be able to make that play, not just pick it off but to go score. Rally proud of him. You continue to try him, he continues to make plays.”
Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. explained Stingley’s impact since opposing teams rarely dare to throw his direction.
“He shows up big for us every week, and teams are scared to throw at him,” Anderson Jr. said. “You see when they throw to him, that’s the outcome they get. So, it wasn’t very smart today. Man, he’s a baller.”
“And he is who he is for a reason because he works hard. He doesn’t say a lot. He loves the game, man. He loves his team.”
- Texans WR Nico Collins was fined $14,491 for a violent gesture, and DT Tommy Togiai was fined $9,625 for a facemask.
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