San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers didn’t deserve to get selected to the Pro Bowl this season. If the recognition were to occur in the first half of the season, then he easily should have been selected. He was one of the top 3 quarterbacks in the game during that stretch.
Through the first 7 games of the season, Philip Rivers had 1961 yards passing with 17 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. The team was sitting at 5-2 in those games. He was playing at an MVP level during that time.
The back half of the season has been a different story. In the last 8 games of the season, he has 14 touchdowns to 13 interceptions with 2034 passing yards. The team has gone 4-4 in that span.
6 quarterbacks were selected into the Pro Bowl this year: Tom Brady, Patriots; Andrew Luck, Colts; Peyton Manning, Broncos; Aaron Rodgers, Packers; Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers; Tony Romo, Cowboys. Philip doesn’t deserve a roster spot over any of them. Not this year. This hasn’t been the best year for Philip.
Philip has been selected to the Pro Bowl 5 times in his career. He participated in the festivities last season. The offense has declined this season in comparison to last year without a legit running threat on the roster and Philip has had to carry the team on his back in the passing game. Philip’s numbers have taken a dip.
Last season, Philip finished with his highest completion percentage of his career. That was the focus of offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt. He finished the 2013 season with a 69.5 completion percentage with 4478 yards and 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Nov 16, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) looks at the scoreboard during the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
This season, he will likely attempt more passes (only 8 attempts behind last season’s pace with a game remaining) and he has 3995 yards with 31 touchdowns and the second most interceptions in his career. He has 16 interceptions this season and had 20 in 2011.
In the first half of the year, Philip looked like an MVP candidate. He wasn’t able to sustain that torrid pace and didn’t even get selected to the Pro Bowl.
All those awards can go on the back burner at the moment though. The Chargers main focus has to be on the Kansas City Chiefs and leading the Chargers into the playoffs. The last time that Philip faced off against the Chiefs in Week 7, he had his 2nd worst completion percentage this season (54.84%). He also had 205 passing yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception in the game. Pretty solid numbers considering the Chiefs held the ball for 39 minutes. The team will need to sustain more drives and get off the field on 3rd down with the defense.
Philip needs to play like the MVP candidate we saw early in the year. We know his back is bad, but we need him to carry the team on that bad back. We know he will do anything to make it happen.