LA Chargers countdown to 2020: Best number 95 in team history

We are 95 days away from seeing the LA Chargers in action in 2020.

Counting today, we are officially 95 days away from the LA Chargers kicking off the 2020 season in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

To countdown the 2020 season, we have been naming the best player in team history to wear the coinciding number with however many days are left until the 2020 season. So far, there have not been any current Chargers that have been named as the best at their number.

That streak will continue, as well. Linval Joseph is the active number 95 on the LA Chargers but has not played a single snap with the team yet, so he obviously cannot be named the best number 95 in team history. Counting Joseph, there have been 13 players to wear the number 95 in team history, and the best is quite obvious.

Greatest number 95 in LA Chargers history: Shaun Phillips

Shaun Phillips is one of the greatest pass-rushers in LA Chargers’ history and was one of the most overlooked pass-rushers during his tenure in the league. There was a solid stretch in which he was one of the most consistent pass-rushers in the NFL but was named to only one Pro Bowl.

Phillips was drafted in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft and was a solid rotational player in his first two seasons in the league. Phillips was handed started duties in his third season and that is really when his career started to take off.

Phillips played with the Chargers through the 2012 season and recorded a total of 361 solo tackles and 69.5 sacks while he was a Charger. He had seven or more sacks every season except one from 2005 to 2012, with the exception being 2011. He had two years with the Chargers (and one with Denver) where he had 10 or more sacks.

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In 2009, he led the league with a miraculous seven forced fumbles. Only 23 players since 1993 (when forced fumbles started to be recorded) have had a season with seven or more forced fumbles.

Phillips is second in franchise history in sacks, eighth in solo tackles and ninth in games played for a defensive player. He had the 11th-most sacks in the NFL from 2006 to 2012 and the 13th-most forced fumbles.

Shawne Merriman might be better remembered among casual NFL fans because his short prime was so good and he had all the talent in the world. Phillips did not have as high of a ceiling, but he was a consistent force on the Chargers’ defense during the team’s most successful run in recent history.

Shaun Phillips: the greatest number 95 in LA Chargers history.