Chargers fans should root for Philip Rivers to go off in season finale

CARSON, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Philip Rivers #17 of the Los Angeles Chargers scrambles out of the pocket from Dee Ford #55 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at StubHub Center on September 9, 2018 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
CARSON, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Philip Rivers #17 of the Los Angeles Chargers scrambles out of the pocket from Dee Ford #55 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at StubHub Center on September 9, 2018 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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The end could be here, in more ways than one. For the Los Angeles Chargers, the 2019 season will be over after this Sunday and so could Philip Rivers‘ tenure with the team.

The Kansas City Chiefs will be the team on the other side of the field, but that’s largely irrelevant.

The Chargers’ front office likely has a pretty good idea of what they want to do at the quarterback position next year and the way Rivers plays against the Chiefs in the season finale probably won’t impact that.

The team has many important questions facing it this offseason but the majority of those surround the quarterback position. You can find numerous mock drafts already that show the team taking a quarterback in the first round, giving you an idea of what many experts feel should happen.

So it is entirely possible that we will be seeing Rivers, who will be a free agent following the season, suit up for the final time. If that happens, here are a few things to remember.

  • Rivers is the team’s winningest quarterback ever (128 wins). Dan Fouts is second with 89 wins.
  • He ranks first in team history in passing yardage, completions and touchdown passes.
  • He has made the second-most starts by a quarterback in NFL history and is the active leader of all players.

Rivers has struggled this season and he would be the first to admit that. But the entire team has struggled in spots as well. Does the team need a younger, more athletic quarterback? It’s easy to say yes. But while fans clamor for that day to come, they can’t just turn their back on all the things that Rivers has done for the organization and the list above is just a small portion of all that he has done.

Rivers hasn’t just been good for the Chargers, he has been great. He’s put the team on his back for years and tried to will it to the finish line. That hasn’t worked, but it hasn’t been because of a lack of effort.

He played on a torn ACL in the AFC Championship Game back in 2008 and he has suited up for every game for some bad teams, following a change of cities and still stood there and taken the bad with the good.

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Rivers deserves nothing but respect as he has always played with class on and off the field (unless you’re a player or fan that has been offended by his trash talk which includes zero cuss words). So in what could be his final game, despite a bad season, fans should be hoping that for one more time, he lights it up on the field.

Hopefully, we get the Rivers that played great against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hopefully, he completes 10 passes or more to Keenan Allen and throws multiple touchdown passes. Who knows, maybe he’ll even find Mike Williams for another two-point conversion to silence the Arrowhead crowd at the end of the game?

Regardless of which team wins and which team loses, fans should be rooting for No. 17 to fling it around, have some fun and post some nice numbers one more time.

Because he’s earned it.