The Indianapolis Colts quarterback Riley Leonard had a special moment with his family after throwing his first career touchdown pass on Sunday, January 4th.
Early in the first quarter of the Colts’ game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Leonard found a wide receiver. Alec Pierce for a 66-yard touchdown, an electric moment for Leonard and the Colts.
After the celebrations were over, Leonard received the ball and saw his father in the crowd behind the bench, and he threw the ball to his father. His father returned him to his seat, where Leonard’s mother was also watching the game.
During the broadcast, CBS showed a replay of the unforgettable moment for the Leonard family.
“Go ahead and throw the ball to your dad and he hands it to your mom and they share a kiss,” the broadcaster and former NFL star said. JJ Watt after the work “I mean, is there a better time to be on camera for your first NFL touchdown?”
Leonard was named the Colts’ starting quarterback earlier this week, replacing the 44-year-old. Felipe Rios for the final game of the 2025-2026 NFL season.
The Colts, with an 8-8 record in Sunday’s game, are eliminated from the playoffs.
Rivers was under center for the Colts the past three weeks behind the starting quarterback Daniel Jones injured his Achilles during the team’s Week 14 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Colts have lost six games in a row, and with the season almost over, head coach Shane Steichen decided to go with Leonard over Rivers at the end of the regular season.
“Thank you, really. It’s a long season and a lot of waiting for the right time, and you never know when the time is,” Leonard told the media Wednesday, after being named the starter. “There’s only 32 guys starting in the NFL this week, and I’m one of them.”
Riley Leonard and Michael Pittman Jr. of the Indianapolis Colts interact before the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Jan. 4.
Tim Warner/Getty ImagesLeonard said Rivers stepped in to give him a chance to make his first career start late in his rookie season.
“Phil has been one of the best things that ever happened to me,” Leonard said. “I’ve had a lot of luck with the quarterback room from Philip to Daniel (Jones) a Anthony (Richardson). Everyone has been a great help.”
NFL quarterback Philip Rivers and his wife, Tiffany, have 10 children and one grandchild, the perfect number to field their own starting football lineup. While the Chargers legend and Indianapolis Colts veteran will be the first to tell you that raising 10 kids as a professional athlete isn’t easy (as if it should be (…))
On Wednesday, Dec. 31, Rivers told “Up and Adams” that he will retire from football, for good this time, after the season. He will coach the football team St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama, where his two sons play football. (Rivers and his wife, tiffanyshare 10 children.)
“I’m back on the sidelines,” Rivers said on the show. “This was a fun three-week blur that nobody saw coming, including me. And that’s going to be it.”
As for Leonard’s expectations in his first career start, Steichen said, outside of the obvious answer of winning the game, he didn’t want to “complicate it too much” for the rookie.
“I think game management, completions, not making bad plays worse is a big part of that as a rookie, and going out there and moving the football,” the coach told reporters on Friday, Jan. 2. “I don’t want to make it too complicated than it is. It’s getting completions, being good in the run game, when you get shots, take them, but during the game, be smart with the football.”