Watch Philip Rivers show no chill against Raiders defense
By Travis Wakeman
Philip Rivers was calling his shots for the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday…. literally.
In the midst of the Chargers’ 26-10 win over the Oakland Raiders in Week 5, Rivers seemed to actually tell the Raiders what was coming.
“Base defense, huh? Hey Virg, you run a seam”, is what it sounded like.
The Raiders weren’t able to stop anything on Sunday and they haven’t been able to stop anything all season. But this was another level.
Rivers, who has no love lost for his longtime rival, shredded the Raiders, completing 22 of 27 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns. Had the Raiders been a little more competitive, his stats may have been even more impressive.
Take a listen:
@Chargers QB Philip Rivers shows @Raiders no respect today, mocking them here: “Nice defense, huh?” He then yells for all to hear which route he wants Virgil Green to run! pic.twitter.com/4WvevH18Tp
— Jon Becker (@JonBecker28) October 8, 2018
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But it wasn’t just the stats. It was the way Rivers commanded his team against the Raiders, showing no mercy as the offense moved the ball down the field. He was calling audibles at the line of scrimmage and making the right read on every throw. Calling out part of a play, as he seemingly did, is just an extra slap to the face.
Rivers showed the Raiders no respect on Sunday, and as a Chargers fan, that has to make you love your quarterback even more.
Of course, this could just be a case of a live microphone picking up something Rivers does frequently, but to literally tell the defense a route that one of the players is going to run seems a bit savage.
The Chargers will next face the Raiders in Week 10. Will this be bulletin board material or just another reason for Jon Gruden to wish he stayed in the Monday Night Football booth?