Philip Rivers Passes John Elway For Eighth All-Time on TD Passing List
As San Diego Chargers fans try to keep their heads up and hopes of making the playoffs alive despite another disappointing loss this past Sunday to the Miami Dolphins, they have the efforts of quarterback Philip Rivers, who once again is making his move upward on a great list, to keep them satisfied.
The game was back-and-forth, and it was a game the Chargers should have easily won. A sad common theme this season. Rivers, on the other hand, has been winning on his own this year by cementing his name as one of the best quarterbacks of all-time, as he moved to eighth place on the NFL’s all-time list for touchdown passes.
Rivers tied John Elway for eighth place with his 300th touchdown after he found rookie tight end Hunter Henry for a 7-yard pass on 3rd-and-goal with 5:36 in the third quarter, which gave the Chargers a 17-14 lead. He was close to being sacked, but managed to escape and find Henry in the corner of the end zone.
Despite two picks, the Chargers managed to get a lead in the fourth quarter, as Rivers found Tyrell Williams for a 51-yard touchdown with 4:04 on the clock. Then the mistakes happened, two more picks, out of sync offense and defense, and we all know what happened after that.
Going into Sunday’s game, he was presumptuously one of the best passers in the NFL this season with a 63.4 percent completion rate and seven interceptions.
Rivers finished the day 23-for-44 with 326 yards and three touchdowns, but four interceptions. This tied his career-high for interceptions, which was set back against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 15, 2012.
Peyton Manning still holds the record for the most touchdown passes with 539. Rivers is right behind his younger brother Eli Manning, who currently has 309. Drew Brees and Tom Brady are the other two current players in the league above them both, with well over 400.
Rivers is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league, and hitting this milestone goes to show that he is one of the best to play the game. Rivers continues to be fuel for the team with his competitive drive and spirit, so he is not the reason they are losing. They lose sight of the wins with heinous mistakes that should not happen in the first place, and let the wins slip right past their hands. With the aching losses of players due to constant injuries week after week, the Chargers are 4-6 on the season and have blown four fourth quarter leads, all within the final three minutes of the game, which is very unfortunate and mind-boggling for Chargers fans.
However, if the Chargers want to still be in playoff contention, they need to get their act together and play like a playoff team. We are lucky to have some of the players we do now, but it’s time to show the rest of the leagues why we have them.
Jolene Nacapuy is currently the media operations director of Proud Digital Media. She graduated in 2016 from the University of La Verne with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. She is a small town Hawaii native with high-energy and motivation, with experience in writing hard and breaking news, features, commentary’s and sports articles. She has written articles and taken photos for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She has served as an assistant sports editor, sports editor and editor in chief of the Campus Times and also written for HerCampus La Verne. She has also contributed for Lakers Nation and Dodgers Nation. Jolene is a big sports fan and when she’s not working on her next story, she’s at a sports event.