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CARSON, Calif. – In the middle of a restless week, as he was crossing a day-long commute into southern California, Philip Rivers had turkey and circulation on the brain. Sitting at the back of the custom SUV that regularly hauls him from Orange County Chargers' Los Angeles training center to his home in San Diego, the 15-year-old quarterback was eager to join his wife pregnant, Tiffany, and their eight children for an epic. family party.
Yet, his stomach was left to rumor, because last Thursday, the highway was slower than Rivers coming out of the pocket and rolling towards the sideline. On the way that would not end, he did not feel particularly grateful.
"The Thanksgiving traffic was brutal," recalls Rivers after his almost perfect performance (no, really) that prompted the Chargers to defeat the Arizona Cardinals (45-10) at the StubHub Center. "It was worse than a normal (rush hour) I was wondering," Where is everyone? " Go? ""
Three days later, Rivers' right arm was more accurate than the GPS optimized for traffic. His record-breaking performance not only helped the Chargers (8-3) bounce back from a frustrating defeat the previous Sunday, he also bluntly recalled that the Rams are not the only team in Los Angeles to have legitimate aspirations at the Super Bowl. .
There are many reasons to consider the Chargers as contenders, but the most important is the Sidearm Sensation, which speaks a lot, and whose clumsy throws are more lethal than ever as it gets closer to its 37th birthday on next month.
"It's amazing," said Russell Okung, the Chargers' forward, about Rivers. "The guy comes down, defeats the defenses and talks to them in a stupid way, they answer him, and he throws them at them anyway, he is afraid of nothing, and today he was almost perfect. "
By completing his first 25 passes, Rivers set a new league standard for most consecutive games in one game – and tied Ryan Tannehill's three-year mark for the most part over a period of two years. games. He found himself on 28 of 29 shots for 259 yards and three touchdowns, for a 96.6 point completion percentage that set a new NFL record in one game (20 attempts, minimum). And for what it's worth, we could have avoided Rivers's only flaw if someone had bothered to let him know that he was about to do the story.
While it was 6:04 in the third quarter and the Chargers up 35-10, Rivers, on the first and top 10 of the LA 27, dropped after a fake play and felt heavy pressure in the pocket . While absorbing a shot in the lower body of Arizona defensive end Zach Moore, Rivers attempted a pass over the center of Austin Ekeler, but the ball landed at the feet of the back half, ending to the series of 25 goals.
"I did not know that I was one of those who missed the most," Rivers told me next, as he stood near his locker. "I knew we had not missed, but I did not know that I was right on. I will not say if I would have taken or would not have taken the bag if I had known. But looking back, Keenan (Allen) was in a place where I thought I could get there, but I borrowed what seemed to be the safest way. "
If Rivers had taken the bag, his head coach would not have told him anything.
"If I had known (about the record)," said Anthony Lynn when leaving the stadium, "I would have told him to take the bag. "
In fact, it was a bag that Rivers did not take towards the end of the defeat on Sunday against the Denver Broncos, who had been largely responsible for the sad week spent at the Chargers headquarters. Two minutes from the end and two points ahead, Rivers, third and seventh in the Broncos' 48-yard line, felt the pressure from the menacing All-Pro Denver defenseman Von Miller, and instinctively threw the ball into the grass. rather than attempting a screen pass for half-back Melvin Gordon.
By doing so, rather than falling into a bag that would have blew 40 seconds late, Rivers gave the Broncos, who were at the end of the allotted time, the opportunity to mount a much less frenetic record, and the Chargers collapsed. -22 in Brandon McManus's last goal, 34 yards in StubHub, ending their run of six straight wins.
After a slow start against Arizona (2-9), Rivers and his teammates largely overcame their frustrations against the Cardinals.
"It was a good team win and we needed it," Rivers said. "It's been a tough week, the way we lost to Denver was overwhelming, and I was angry at myself, it's me who checked the screen and as soon as I I came out – you saw my face – I knew it was a mistake.On a screen pass, since the age of 12, you are taught: " If you have it, throw it away; otherwise, mess it up. "I threw it into the ground, and it's on me."
Detecting Rivers' bad mood ahead of Sunday's game, Lynn was keen to ask the quarterback to share his feelings with his teammates.
"I let him talk to the team on Friday," Lynn said. "We talked about our best game – when we eliminate distractions, when we are focused, when we are upset, and he was upset.He was called all week, because he hated the way (the Broncos finished) All these guys did it. "
Angry, the Chargers started off softly on Sunday, as the Cardinals won quarterback rookie Josh Rosen's Larry Fitzgerald pass and took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. When Rivers escaped the game after being touched while he was attempting a throw from Arizona defensive striker Rodney Gunter, and as Benson Mayowa pulled himself back to the Chargers in the first leg, he remained more than 11:10, the picturesque crowd of 25,343 StubHub seemed to moan in unison. .
Then, the Chargers have experienced a rise that has allowed them to face their last five possessions (a record since a game since 2006), by registering 45 touchdowns and scoring 45 (without they have done since 1969). and limit the Cardinals to 149 total yards (their best defensive effort since 2010). The lockout performance, including two bags from star defenseman Joey Bosa, who missed the first nine games of the season due to a foot injury before returning to the Broncos, and a second-quarter interception by dynamic rookie goalie Derwin James, who set up the third landing.
After the match, I asked James, the Florida State team 's top pick, though he had underestimated how good Rivers was before he arrived at L.A.
"Hell yes," he replied. "Shit yes!" On Madden, I played with him and I said: "Who is this type of handgun? "Then they made me a rough draft and I got to the practice field, and it was unbelievable what he could do. It's fun to play with him, my brother. "
It's less fun to play against him. at least it was for the rookie quarterback of the Cardinals. Rosen says: "It was wild, I went to see him after the game and I told him:" A failure … Dude, that's crazy … ".
Once Rivers got hot, the Chargers fans had only a moment of cold in the air: the sight of Gordon, the highly productive half-player of the team, pierced by the defensive lineman Cardinals Robert Nkemdiche after leaving the team after Ekeler was captured early in the third quarter. play with a right knee injury. A Chargers source said that he did not think Gordon's knee had suffered structural damage, but that the team was waiting for the test results to determine the precise nature of the injury.
If Gordon is running out of time, it will add to Rivers' burden, which quietly organizes a season of the most valuable player. Others drew more attention, including Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs sensational quarterback in sophomore; Jared Goff, third year prolific passer of the Rams; and Drew Brees of the Saints, former Rivers teammate at Chargers, for whom he was doubled in his first three seasons in the NFL – Rivers was this good in 2018.
On Sunday, Rivers reached the plateau of 25 touchdowns for the eleventh consecutive season, beating Brees tied with the second-longest series of this type in the history of the NFL.
What rivers really wants, of course, is a blow to the Super Bowl MVP. His last appearance in the playoffs was five seasons ago and none of his nine playoff games were played with a Lombardi trophy. Cruel, the ultra-tough Rivers duel, who made his 203rd consecutive regular season game Sunday, played his only AFC championship game, a loss on the road against the New England Patriots 11 seasons ago. after having torn the ACL the week before.
"I'd like to play in one (healthy)," Rivers said.
Now, with the Chargers behind the Chiefs in West Africa, they will face a discouraging December that starts with the Sunday night showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"I think we're pretty good," Rivers said towards the end of our conversation in his locker. "We have to clean up a few points, and of course we're about to get into a very difficult sequence, so we have to be better, if we can keep running and protecting the ball and playing the defense well. , had the chance to do some things. "
On Sunday, Rivers did something that no quarterback from the NFL had done yet, and that was more than enough to defeat an outclassed opponent.
Okung laughs, "I'm going to need him to do it again next Sunday."
It's a good idea, but chances are, Rivers will throw more of a failure against the Steelers.
"I do not expect it to be like this next Sunday," Rivers said.
Rest assured, a victory, whatever it is, would suit him perfectly.
Follow Michael Silver on Twitter @mikesilver.
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