To be mentioned with a great is an unbelievable honor but what if it’s for the wrong reasons? This may be the case when discussing Philip Rivers. Rivers is an elite QB for the San Diego Chargers but for all his stats he has never won the one game that will take him out from under the shadow of Eli Manning or Ben Roethlisberger. To be fair, all the pressure and blame cannot be thrown upon his shoulders alone.
Rivers has performed, under pressure, with talent and without but much like Dan Marino before him he gets an A for effort but fails where it matters most. Marino, seen as one of the greatest QBs in the history of the NFL ranks near the top of every passing category but still has no Super Bowl ring to match, but he has played in one. Rivers has not had the luxury to get that close but he still has time, or so it seems but will he have to leave the Chargers to get that shot?
What makes Rivers so special is the amount of respect he doesn’t get. In 10 years as a starter he has never missed a single game, passed for 41,000+ yards, 281 TDs, but the eye-catcher is his 65% completion percentage with ranks him over greats like Tom Brady, Joe Montana, and Marino, not to mention Eli and Big Ben. Those alone should earn him elite status but unlike Marino, he still does not get the nod when mentioned with today’s players.
Rivers is still young and will have at least another 6-7 productive years in the league, and if the Charges can somehow team him with capable, skilled players, we could see Rivers challenge most of the passing records in history. Last season was a down year production-wise for him as he tossed only 29 TDs but when you’re placed with a swinging door of playmakers, due to injuries or inconsistency, it’s hard to gain any rhythm or momentum as a team.
Rivers just may be the best QB that you never paid attention to and if he was to leave the game being compared to Marino that’s nothing to hang his head over.
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