The Kansas City Chiefs head west Sunday for their very first meeting with the newly relocated Los Angeles Chargers. Should the Chiefs be on upset alert?
Philip Rivers is a great quarterback. Sure, he is no Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, but there is no quarterback that haunts my Chiefs nightmares more than Philip Rivers. Rivers is the living personification of everything the Chiefs should fear in an opposing quarterback. A cagey veteran who knows the Chiefs inside and out, having played for the Chargers the entirety of his 11 year career. Over that 11 year span, Rivers has beaten the Chiefs 12 times. Lets break down four statistics that are worth keeping in mind as we approach Sunday’s contest.
Rivers has never started 0-3
This is a particularly disturbing stat. In 11 seasons as the Chargers starting quarterback, Rivers has never started 0-3. In six of those 11 seasons, the Chargers have started 1-2, in the other five, they started 2-1. These numbers do not bode well for the Chiefs, as the Chargers find themselves currently sitting at 0-2. History says Philip Rivers wins this game.
Good numbers at home
Philip Rivers has a pretty good record against Kansas City at home, sporting a record of 7-4. In those eleven games, Rivers has thrown for 2,508 yards and 15 touchdowns. If there is a silver lining here, Rivers has also thrown 14 interceptions in those games. Maybe Marcus Peters can get his hands on one Sunday?
He’s on when it counts
Despite the national narrative that surrounds his performance, Philip Rivers is very good in the fourth quarter. According to Scott Kacsmar of Pro-football-reference.com, Rivers has engineered 26 game winning drives in the fourth quarter and overtime. Of those 26 drives, four of them came versus the Chiefs. The last two losses the Chiefs have suffered to the Chargers, in 2013, came by way of Rivers fourth quarter magic. I mean, who could forget this game-winning dagger— to Seyi Ajirotutu of all people!
Kansas City will have to keep the pressure on come Sunday. And lastly…
Philip Rivers is an elite quarterback
Rivers is widely regarded as a very good quarterback in this league, yet, many do not view him as one of the elites. It is true that Rivers has lost a step as of late, but his career numbers are still pretty incredible. In 11 seasons, Rivers has thrown for over 46,000 yards, 318 touchdowns, and only 157 interceptions. Even though there is no quarterback I enjoy beating more than Rivers, It truly is a shame that he does not have a ring. Rivers takes much of the blame for the Chargers struggles in recent years, when in reality, it is only the spectacular play of Rivers that has kept the Chargers remotely relevant. Philip Rivers is the most underappreciated quarterback in the game
Now, it is true that none of these stats will mean a whole lot come Sunday afternoon. This is the strongest team Kansas City has fielded in a long time. I think they will beat the Chargers. That said, there are going to be many people who write this off as a sure win for the Chiefs, that would be a mistake. If the last 11 years have taught us anything, we should never count Philip Rivers out.