When you’re hot, you’re hot. Right now quarterback Philip Rivers is playing about as hot as a steaming pot of piped-brewed, caffeinated coffee. Any serious MVP discussion going around looks ridiculous without Rivers’ name in the mix.
Without Rivers, the San Diego Chargers are a pedestrian team on offense. With Rivers running the show, the Chargers are in every ball game. If you allow Rivers one last shot at a win, it’s a good bet that he will call checkmate on you. You then hold your breath and hope that something freakish keeps Rivers out of the endzone.
The Detroit Lions can vouch for this after being lit up for 404 yards and two touchdowns in the Chargers’ 33-28 opening day win. You might say that Rivers went a little AWOL against the Lions as he connected on 83 percent of his passes (35 of 42) and tied Dan Fouts for the club’s all-time passing touchdown mark at 254.
That’s not hot. That’s sizzling.
“Well, anytime that you have a quarterback like Philip Rivers, you have a chance,” Chargers coach Mike McKoy said after the Lions game. “And hey, he’s the biggest competitor in the world.”
Being the competitor that Rivers is has helped him win over teammates with his play on the field.
“He’s the best quarterback in the game,” wide receiver Malcom Floyd said. “He knows how to score when it’s crunch time. We didn’t give up on him. You know how we (feel) about him. We have faith in him every play and we just work for him.”
The Cleveland Browns found out about Rivers’ knack for exhibiting the hot hand when they allowed the right-handed, passing gunslinger to throw for 358 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Chargers to a 30-27 win with no time on the clock.
“We just wanted to get a win,” Danny Woodhead said after the Chargers had defeated the Browns. “Any time you get a win in this league, (which) is so tough to do, it doesn’t matter who it is and it doesn’t matter who you are playing. As long as you win the game, it is definitely a good thing and a celebration in here because we work really hard during the week to get that.”
Those are just the victories. Even in defeat, Rivers know how to work his magic to make things a bit more interesting.
The Pittsburgh Steelers understand that too well as they watched Rivers burn their defensive secondary for 365 yards and two touchdowns in the Chargers’ 24-20 defeat to the men in Black and Gold.
Had it not been for the late-game heroics by Steelers quarterback Mike Vick, Rivers and the Chargers would have a third victory in the win-loss column.
“Every loss is tough,” Rivers said after that game. “This one came down to the last play…talk about being a game of inches, it was just that. If we made a few plays here or there, it may have been different. But it isn’t, and shoot, we’ve got no time to mope around and feel sorry for ourselves because the place we’re going next week; it’s going to be an even tougher challenge.”
That challenge would be the Packers. Before Vick pulled a rabbit out of the Steelers hat, Rivers looked every bit the Man as he drove the Chargers down the field for what appeared to be a game-winning 54-yard field goal by Josh Lambo against the Steelers. There must some some cold water flowing through Rivers’ veins because these last-minute theatrics seem to be the Chargers’ calling card this season.
Sunday against the Packers, it was no different.
Rivers threw the ball 65 times against the Packers. He completed 43 of those passes, carving up Clay Matthews and friends with the ease of a surgical physician. But Rivers would trade in those eye-popping numbers for the chance to win the game, which he nearly pulled off.
As it was, his pass to Woodhead on fourth and goal with seconds remaining in the game hung in the air for the longest time as the crowd at Lambeau Field stood still in the moment. Finally, what looked like Rivers’ 44th completion of the game, fell harmlessly to the turf after being batted down. As the Packers observed up close and personal, Rivers is no easy out.
Going up against Rivers is like taking your best shot and hoping for the best kind of deal. So far, Rivers has been well ahead of the quarterback pack in this category. Heading in to the Chargers rival game against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium, Rivers lead all quarterbacks in yards thrown with 2, 116 yards.
And the Chargers haven’t even hit the midseason marker yet. The nearest guy remotely close to Rivers in this department is Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton, who has 1,761 yards.
When you look at the numbers comparison, you see that there really is none. Rivers is blowing away the competition. Where would the Chargers be without Rivers zinging the ball all over the football field? Probably not in a good place. If he keeps going the way he’s throwing the ball, Rivers will likely go over the 5,000-yard mark in a season. Last year, Rivers passed for 4, 286 yards and 31 touchdowns.
In 2013, Rivers went for 4, 478 yards and 32 touchdowns threw the air. Sitting at 2-4, the Chargers are going to need every yard that Rivers throws for in order to try to save their season. The Denver Broncos are already trying to run away with the AFC West Division with an unblemished mark after six games. The Chargers have no room for error for a postseason run.
Beating Oakland would be a start on the right track. And you know Rivers is going to have a hand in the outcome.
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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