Philip Rivers on Chris Jones, respecting Chiefs and giving gloves to a K.C. fan

Philip Rivers post-game press conference for the Los Angeles Chargers was an emotional one in which he spoke highly of the Kansas City Chiefs and gave some great quotes.

The Los Angeles Chargers closed the final chapter of a disappointing season on Sunday with a final record of 5-11 after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead. For future Hall of Fame quarterback Philip Rivers, it was also the potential end of an incredible career, and his post-game press conference was a must-watch with plenty of emotion and great stories—even for Chiefs fans.

Reporters pressed Rivers plenty about the potential end of his career after the game, but it was clear he was hoping to not fully cave into the emotions of it all. “I tried not to get too far ahead. It’s too hard to go there immediately at the end of a game,” he said.

Rivers admitted that after the game, he wanted to connect with as many Chiefs players as possible as they continued forward to represent the AFC West.

“First of all, I was trying to see as many of those Chiefs guys as I could and wish ’em the best moving forward. Knowing that feeling that there’s more football left and you’re one of 12 is exciting and then to obviously find out that they get a bye and all… I love to go at it with those guys, as everybody knows, but I also have a great respect for guys and how they play and how hard they play, so afterward you wish them the best and tell them, ‘Go get em!'”

Later on, Rivers was asked about his verbal sparring with Chris Jones and what he thought of the Chiefs defensive tackle. You might be surprised at what he said.

“That was the first play of the game and I thought my leg was broke but thankfully it wasn’t,” said Rivers. “It was one of those deals where I thought it was a little cheap, just because I didn’t think he had to finish me. It was already called underneath and then he kinda finished me. But again, we talked after the game and even during a little break in the action. Shoot, it’s all good. Some of that is good for me to get me going a little bit. But shoot, what a player he is now. He’s up there, if not one, he’s a close second [among] defensive tackles in the league. He’s a heckuva player.”

Rivers also pushed back against any notion that he feels as if he could be done. Even in a game in which nothing was up for grabs, it was clear that Rivers still loves playing the game and specifically at Arrowhead Stadium.

“The motivation is still there,” he said. “There’s nothing like competing at this level, living the dream, even in a situation where you’re 5-10. I was asked at some point this week what’s the motivation… it’s like, shoot, the motivation? I’m 38 years old and get to play the Kansas City Chiefs at this place. Are you kidding me? I don’t care what the record is. That tells me I still have some juice left.”

Finally one reporter noticed that Rivers removed his game-used gloves and handed them over to an unexpected recipient—a Chiefs fan! Rivers says he’s a familiar face and it came with a great story.

“There was one guy in particular there that you almost feel like you get to know after so many years of standing there. I laugh because many years ago, me and Charlie Whitehurst were going to Oklahoma Joe’s. We were standing in line—it was a long line—and there was nothing but Chiefs fans everywhere. Here we are standing there and now we’ve been seen. It’s a brutal line and we’re standing there about 3 minutes and Charlie looks at me and says, ‘Are we staying in this line?’ I said, ‘Let’s just go.’ So we left.

“The next day, we’re here at the game, this guy hollers at me, ‘Hey Rivers, let me tell ya how we do it at Oklahoma Joe’s. You stand in line like everybody else, you order, you get your plate…’ I was standing there like, ‘How in the heck did you know I was in there?’ There’s always been this… he gives it to me a little bit and then we’ll make a good play and then he’ll [acknowledge it]. So there’s always been that back and forth and we made eye contact and he said, ‘Can I get those?’ So I thought, ‘What the heck if it’s the last time in here?'”

It’s clear Rivers has plenty of respect for the game and the Chiefs in particular and the feeling runs both ways. Rivers is one of the greats of his generation, and if this is the last time we get to see him, we wish him well in whatever comes next. It was certainly always a challenge to see him play the Chiefs on the road or at home.