By: Peyton Schultze

Philip Rivers, #17, has enjoyed a fantastic start to the season.

On January 20th, 2008, a cold and wintery day in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the then-San Diego Chargers faced off against the Bill Belichick-led New England Patriots with a battle for a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. With an undefeated record and a packed stadium full of 68, 756 eager Patriot fans, the Chargers were trounced thoroughly in the game. Even with the Charger defense forcing 3 interceptions from Tom Brady and limiting Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss to 1 catch for 18 yards, the Chargers seemed all but hopeless without their star LaDainian Tomlinson for most of the game, who was battling a severe knee injury at the time. But hidden beneath this meaningful but yet uneventful game was the status of the emerging quarterback, Philip Rivers. Rivers, in the previous week against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, had torn his ACL and then had a small knee procedure during the week, so that he could at least attempt to walk. By keeping it under the radar, Rivers suited up for the AFC Championship game in New England with little to no complaints. By throwing 37 times for 211 yards, Rivers went out and put up a gutsy fight to try to keep the Chargers alive and hope to reach the Super Bowl. While the Chargers inevitably lost to a team that many consider one of the best of all time in the 2007-2008 New England Patriots, the bold effort by Rivers was certainly applauded.

Rivers, pictured here, played on a torn ACL in the 2008 AFC Championship.

For Rivers, that championship game was the furthest he has ever advanced in the playoffs. This season, he is now starting to enter the Iron Man status with players like the Manning brothers and Brett Favre for consecutive games played, just reaching 200 straight games in last week’s battle against Seattle. Yet, not all of those straight appearances have necessarily lead to huge wins. For 10 years, Rivers has watched quarterbacks such as Brady and Manning, in addition to Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger, run the AFC and prevented Rivers from becoming a champion. The Chargers have made the playoffs only 3 times since then, going 2-3 in those years and losing to the likes of teams such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, and Denver Broncos. While Rivers has had little to no issue dominating box scores for years, the Chargers have struggled to ultimately reach the promised land and get their first Lombardi Trophy. Since the recent move to Los Angeles for the Chargers, Rivers has been all but dominant. Yet, things such as bad field goal kicking, 4th quarter mistakes, and a lack of execution has cursed the Chargers and their players and staff have prayed for a change in luck.

This year, however, things seem just a little different. As the Chargers (6-2) prepare to head to Oakland for a bout with Jon Gruden and the bottom-feeding Raiders (1-7), Rivers (2236 yards, 19 TDs, 3 INTs) is on a tear in a MVP caliber season and the Chargers seem to have something they have lacked in recent years: confidence that they can go anywhere and win. For example, this throw by Rivers to wide receiver Tyrell Williams is a representation for how his, and the Bolts’, season has gone:

Although the defense has certainly improved this year with additions such as rookie sensation Derwin James, they still have not reached their maximum potential without their otherworldly Pro Bowler, Joey Bosa, who is still recovering from a foot injury. Their defense, from corners such as Casey Hayward to pass rushers like Melvin Ingram, should be able to match up with anyone in the AFC come playoff time if at full strength, even in a conference full of offenses led by Brady, Roethlisberger, and new stars like Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. That leaves the Charger offense to be able to execute and it begins and ends with Rivers ability to get the ball to his elite targets such as Melvin Gordon (579 yards, 7 TDs) and Keenan Allen (47 receptions, 630 yards), and their role players such as Austin Ekeler (20 receptions, 572 total yards) and Tyrell Williams (22 receptions, 5 TDs). With one of the best offensive lines in football as well, the Chargers ground game will travel with them as they travel to hostile environments such as Kansas City and Pittsburgh. Rivers will be the one that gets them over the hump and this year seems to be a year where he may finally do it. Earlier in the year, Rivers said that he was “sure fired up about this team”. And so are Charger fans all along the Southern California coast. Los Angeles has limited their mental mistakes that have cost them in years past and have been able to hold onto key fourth quarter leads, a big problem of the past. Coach Anthony Lynn may have to do with this organization’s resurgence, but even he knows this team will go as far as Rivers takes it.

Rivers and the Chargers, surging on a 5 game win streak, hope to steal not only an AFC West crown from the Chiefs, but a Super Bowl title from the rest of the NFL.

Say what you will about Philip Rivers. Nobody is confusing his style of football with his infamous and unorthodox throwing motion with the likes of Brady, Manning, or Montana. His Southern accent and gigantic family full of kids is not something that completely fits in with the So Cal vibe that he been around over his entire professional career. But he is what he is and stays true to himself. He has been a class act over the course of his career and has been known as a great competitor on the field (see: Von Miller’s praise over Philip over the years). But that one Super Bowl trophy is what could finally get Rivers on top into that elite status of NFL quarterbacks. Winning is what makes quarterbacks go from very good to great. And very good is Philip Rivers. Without question, he has eclipsed the role that quarterback Dan Fouts had for a long time as the all time Chargers quarterback and will be known as an all time quarterback. But will he be able to reach the Hall of Fame without a ring, while quarterbacks from his own draft class have combined for 5 rings between Roethlisberger and Eli Manning? One Super Bowl is all it would take to solidify his place in Canton among the greats of the game. He hasn’t always been an elite performer on the biggest of stages but neither was John Elway until the tail end of his career. And this Chargers team may very well be his best supporting class of players that he has ever played with. But if the Los Angeles Chargers want to finally reach the Super Bowl, it will be because of their Iron Man, Philip Rivers, and it can be guaranteed he will at least have something to say about it in the wild and wide open AFC.