Props on Philip Rivers drive Week 15 betting handle - ESPN

After a surprisingly hot start to the season, the Indianapolis Colts lost four of five contests coming out of a critical Week 14 divisional defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars and, worse, they lost breakout star QB Daniel Jones to a season-ending Achilles injury. Desperate times call for desperate measures, though, so Indy called upon Philip Rivers to breathe life into the team's slimming playoff hopes.

While the 44-year-old grandfather came up just short of pulling off a huge road upset over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, his presence set off a frenzy among the betting public, especially in the props markets.

Rivers to throw a touchdown pass was the most popular non-TD scorer prop at DraftKings on Sunday, which he cashed with an eight-yard score by Josh Downs in the second quarter; Rivers' one TD pass was more than Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes or Drake Maye were able to muster on the day, with the latter's prop to throw two touchdown passes being the second-most popular such prop at DraftKings.

Rivers to throw two touchdowns and Rivers to pass for over 199.5 yards were the third- and fifth-most popular non-TD props, respectively, at DraftKings for the day.

Despite the veteran quarterback's limited mobility in his advanced age, bettors were also backing him to get in the end zone himself: With odds hovering around +2000, a Rivers anytime touchdown would have paid out 10 times the next closest anytime TD scorer prop in total money, while his first touchdown would have paid out three times the next closest, according to Caesars Sportsbook's head of football Joey Feazel.

While the books might have lost a bit on Rivers throwing a touchdown pass, the rest of the game largely went in their favor.

«The anticipated Philip Rivers