The Seahawks host the Colts on Sunday in a game that not only features a pair of playoff contenders, but that also, because of an unexpected signing by Indianapolis this week, has turned into one of the most intriguing games on the Week 15 schedule.

More on that and other things to watch when the Seahawks host the Colts on Sunday at Lumen Field:

1. What does Seattle's dominant defense have in store for the 44-year-old vet, or for the rookie making his first start?

In one of the biggest and most unlikely stories of the 2025 season, the Colts signed 44-year-old quarterback Philip Rivers this week to give them a veteran option at the position after starter Daniel Jones suffered a season-ending Achilles injury last weekend. Rivers last played in 2020, long enough ago that he is currently a semifinalist for election into the Pro Football Hall Fame (something he'll have to forgo for another five years if he plays this weekend).

Rivers, an eight-time Pro-Bowler during his 16 seasons with the Chargers before spending 2020 with the Colts, played in a very similar offensive scheme back then to the one the Colts run now under head coach Shane Steichen, a longtime Chargers assist during Rivers' time there. So despite the long layoff, it's entirely possible he's ready to play after less than a week back on the practice field.

"If anybody can pull it off, it's him," said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald, who is nearly eight years younger than Rivers. "The guy is probably one of the best competitors in the history of the NFL. I'm sure he wouldn't do it if he didn't feel like he was ready, so we're getting ready for him like he's been playing the whole time."

The Colts' other likely option is rookie Riley Leonard, who took over for Daniels last weekend. The 23-year-old Leonard, who is younger than Rivers' oldest daughter, came out of that game with a knee injury, but has practiced fully this week.

Regardless of who the Seahawks face—a third, seemingly less likely option would be Brett Rypien, who was promoted from the practice squad this week—they plan to be ready. And given how well the Seahawks' defense has played this season, and of late in particular, allowing a total of nine points in their last two wins, they have the right to feel confident against any opposing quarterback.

"We prepare for everyone honestly, no matter who is the quarterback," safety Coby Bryant said. "We've got to respect our opponent always and just continue to prepare like we been doing."

2. Can Seattle's run defense keep an impressive streak going against one of the league's best backs?

The Seahawks are holding opponents to just 3.8 yards per rush attempt this season, which ranks second in the NFL, and they rank fourth in rushing yards allowed. They've also allowed just seven rushing touchdowns, the third fewest in the league. And by playing great run defense all season, they have yet to allow an individual 100-yard rusher in 2025, making it 22 consecutive games dating back to last season, the longest active streak in the NFL.

"We take so much pride in it," veteran defensive tackle Jarran Reed said of his team's run defense. "You can't even begin to (pass) rush or nothing without stopping the run. That's on us up front. If we're not stopping the run, we have a problem up front. We take pride in that every week, every practice, every time we hit the field."

Stopping the run and extending that streak to 23 games will be a very difficult challenge against the Colts and their Pro-Bowl and All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor, who leads the league with 1,356 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns and 18 total touchdowns. A week ago, the Seahawks faced one of the league's best backs in Atlanta's Bijan Robinson, and limited him to a solid, but not spectacular, stat line of 86 yards on 20 carries, and now they'll face arguably an even better running attack against the Colts.

"Man, great contact balance," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said. "He's probably the fastest guy we've gone against so far. Can outrun angles, got really good acceleration, really good vision. He's a really good back. He's really good. This is two in a row where we faced the league's best in my opinion."

Seattle's defensive players have an impressive streak going, one that they're aware of, and they know they'll have to be on top of their game to extend it to 23 games against Taylor.

"I think that's a big deal," defensive tackle Leonard Williams said of the streak. "I talk about it every week, that it allows us to operate the way we want to as a defense when we're able to stop the run. If we allow offenses to run the ball, we're putting the keys in their hands and obviously we don't want that. Our defensive line takes pride in stopping the run."

3. Facing what might be his biggest competition for the honor, does Jaxon Smith-Njigba state his case for offensive player of the year?

With MVP pretty much evolving into a quarterback award over the last couple of decades, the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year Award tends to go to a skill position player who has the most impressive season.

And for most of the 2025 season, the two players leading that conversation have been Taylor, who despite cooling off a bit of late, is still on pace for more than 2,000 scrimmage yards and 20 touchdowns, and Smith-Njigba, who is the league's leading receiver by a large margin, and who is on pace for more than 100 catches, 1,800 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns.

Smith-Njigba had a quiet game in Week 13, causing him to fall off Calvin Johnson's record pace, but he bounced back with 92 yards and two touchdowns last week, keeping him on track to have one of the most productive receiving seasons in league history.

The Seahawks, as always, will want to run the ball, but the Colts could again be without top cornerback Sauce Gardner, who missed last week's game with a calf injury, and they placed starting cornerback Charvarius Ward on injured reserve this week, so there could be opportunities for Smith-Njigba and Seattle's passing game to capitalize against an injury-depleted secondary.

4. Does the defense keep finishing strong?

In a Week 12 win in Tennessee, the Seahawks were in control throughout the game, but the Titans did manage two late touchdowns to make it a one-score game. Because of that finish, defensive players left Nashville with a bit of a sour taste in their mouths despite another win. Those late scores didn't ever get the Titans back in the game, but the defense still didn't like seeing it happen.

The response from Seattle's defense was two of its best games of the season in back-to-back weeks. Against the Vikings, the Seahawks finished strong to secure the team's first shutout since 2015, and last week, the Seahawks kept the Falcons out of end zone, getting one last stop late in the game when cornerback Riq Woolen and safety Ty Okada broke up passes in the end zone on third and fourth down. With that finish, the Seahawks limited the Falcons to just a trio of field goals, and over their past two games, they have only one fewer takeaway (8) than points allowed (9).

"It's definitely carried over," defensive tackle Leonard Williams said of the way the Titans game ended. "I think it showed up big last week against the Falcons. We didn't start the way we wanted to. We went into the half pretty much tied with that team and we came out finishing the way we wanted to. There are some times, just some games where we don't want it to be close and we want to be able to pull away and finish the way we know we can. Sometimes you learn lessons with a loss, luckily we learned lessons that week with a win."

The Seahawks have kept opponents out of the end zone in consecutive games multiple times in their history, most recently in 2014, but if they can do it a for a third time, that would be a first.

5. Can the Seahawks continue their recent home success?

A big focus for the Seahawks this offseason was to figure out ways to be better at home. The Seahawks were an impressive 7-1 on the road last season, but they still missed the postseason, in part because they struggled at home, winning only three of nine games at Lumen Field.

This season didn't get off to a great start at home either, with the Seahawks losing their opener to the 49ers, but since then the Seahawks are 4-1 at Lumen Field, including dominant wins over the Saints, Cardinals and Vikings.

For the Seahawks to be at their best for a potential postseason run, they'll need to keep winning at home, not just because they have critical home games still to come against the Colts and Rams that could decide their playoff fates, but also because winning at home in the regular season could lead to more home games in the postseason.

"It was a big emphasis, especially early in the beginning of the year, you know, just to show respect to our fans and bring it home to them," defensive end Leonard Williams said. "They show up every week regardless if we're winning or losing, and I think we owed it to them as an organization, as a team, to bring home the wins, and I think we've been doing a good job of that."