Justin Herbert and the 5 best quarterback seasons in Chargers history

Greatest seasons by a Chargers quarterback: 4. Philip Rivers, 2008

There were so many different Philip Rivers seasons to choose from and you are going to see more on this list. The recently-retired quarterback is the best in franchise history for a reason and there are even more great seasons that were left off the list.

Getting it at number four is Rivers’ 2008 campaign. The Chargers were just 8-8 in this season but made it to the NFL Playoffs and shockingly beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card Round, which is known now as the Darren Sproles game.

This was the first season in which Rivers looked like he was the legitimate future of the franchise, not that he was simply a young quarterback that was benefitting from LaDainian Tomlinson (which he was).

Ironically enough, Rivers did not even get named to the Pro Bowl in this season. However, he did lead the league in touchdown passes with 34, which is the most that a quarterback has had in a single season for the Chargers. He also led in yards per passing attempt.

Rivers finished the season with 4,009 yards but crossed the 4,000 mark in only 478 attempts. Justin Herbert had 127 more attempts in one fewer game. If Rivers had 595 attempts in 2008, based on his average, he would have finished with 4,998 yards.

Rivers was not good in that Wild Card game against the Colts but he did play fairly well in a loss against the Steelers in the Divisional Round, throwing for 308 yards with three touchdowns. The problem was that they had virtually no run game with LT out.