Colts QB Philip Rivers presents big challenge, but so does Bears’ defense

If things had gone differently, Philip Rivers and Nick Foles might’ve faced each other on opposite teams Sunday at Soldier Field.

With the Chargers ready to move on and Rivers looking for one last shot at a championship, the Bears would’ve been an ideal landing spot thanks to their overwhelming defense, talented crew of skill players and a quarterback-minded coach in Matt Nagy.

And perhaps if the Colts had lost out on him, coach Frank Reich would’ve pushed for a trade to bring in his old friend Foles as a solid Plan B.

But nothing ever materialized between Rivers and the Bears and he quickly agreed to a deal with the Colts. The Bears traded for Foles 10 days later.

Both teams are happy this week with how it turned out. Foles jumpstarted the Bears with a three-touchdown rally to reach 3-0, and Rivers looks rejuvenated at 38 with the Colts.

While his arm strength has been declining, the early part of this season revealed Rivers is far from done. His 99.9 passer rating is up 11 points from last season, and he has completed a league-best 78.3% of his passes. He’s hardly artful — Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano called his throwing mechanics “funky” — but very precise.

And he happens to do the one thing that can negate the Bears’ fearsome pass rush.

“He gets the ball out faster than anybody in the league,” cornerback Buster Skrine said. “When you face a guy like that — He’s been doing it for so long.”

The Bears saw that last season, when they sacked Rivers just once on 30 drop-backs in the Chargers’ 17-16 win at Soldier Field. Rivers rallied them from a 16-7 deficit late in the third quarter and escaped with a victory after Mitch Trubisky had two fourth-quarter turnovers and Eddy Pineiro missed a 41-yard field goal on the final snap.

It was Rivers’ 27th fourth-quarter comeback in 17 seasons, putting him one behind Brett Favre for 12th all-time.

He’s also similar to Favre in his freewheeling, fearless approach to the position. He is the second quarterback since Favre to post three 20-touchdown, 20-interception seasons. He has three picks in 92 passes this season and 201 in his career, including one by Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller last season.

“When you look at the film this year it’s no different; He’s still the Philip Rivers that I’ve been accustomed to playing,” Bears safety Tashaun Gipson said. “When he’s hot, he’s hot, and the biggest thing is just to get to him and take advantage of opportunities.

“Because he’s definitely a confident quarterback, so there will be opportunities on the back end... But at the same time he’s just a good, savvy vet.”

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is savvy, too, and he certainly couldn’t navigate the Bears’ pass rush. They held him to 3-for-9 passing on third downs and sacked him twice.

The last three seasons, with mostly the same core, the Bears have made Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and other star quarterbacks look ordinary. Rivers struggled most of the game last season before getting hot near the end.

And it’s worth pointing out that his early success this season came against three of the worst pass defenses in the NFL: the Jaguars, Vikings and Jets. Those teams are a combined 1-9, too.

So while Rivers is one of the tougher quarterbacks on the Bears’ schedule this season, that’s exactly what this defense was built to handle. And, sure, he’s seen everything, but that doesn’t mean he’ll withstand what’s coming at him this time.