Philip Rivers, 33-years-old quarterback of the San Diego Chargers. The 10-year legacy of this somewhat underrated passer has been overshadowed by the likes of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, and by some, even Tony Romo.
There has been some discussion over whether Rivers would potentially be a serious candidate for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. To this I say: Yes.
In order to prove why Philip Rivers is deserving, we must look at what makes him an elite-caliber quarterback. Simply put: incredible completion percentage numbers, a superb passer rating, a terrific arm with solid Yards Per Attempt average, amongst other things. His 96.0-passer rating ranks fourth all-time in the NFL, only behind greats such as Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, and Steve Young. As for his 64.4% completion percentage, it ranks 7th all time.
As well as having impressive career stats, Rivers has led the league in several categories. He led the NFL in touchdowns once (2008, 32 touchdowns), passing yards once (2010, 4,710 yards), completion percentage once (2013, 69.5), yards per attempt three times (2008, 2009, 2010), and passer rating once (2008, 105.5).
In the postseason, Rivers hasn’t been too shabby either, despite a rough start in his early years. Although an 11-8 TD-INT ratio isn’t something to brag about, Rivers showed signs of postseason improvement in 2013, throwing 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, a completion percentage of 69.8, and a passer rating of 116.9 in 2 postseason games.
It doesn’t end there. Rivers has put up these stats on an extremely consistent basis. 2005 was the only year in which he’s put up a completion percentage of less than 60.0% (54.5), and this was in a season where he only played 2 games. In seasons where he’s played in every game, Rivers has put up a passer rating of at least 90.0 five times, a passer rating of at least 100.0 four times, a completion percentage of at least 62.0% for six straight seasons, and over 4,000 yards of passing in five of his last six seasons.
So why isn’t Philip Rivers talked about as much as other quarterbacks with impressive stats? The answer to this may not be so clear, but longtime fans will get on it right away; Rivers is in the shadows of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks Drew Brees and Eli Manning (Brady and Peyton are in a class by themselves).
Brees, who started out with the Chargers in 2001, signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2006 after becoming a free agent. He went on to win a Super Bowl with the Saints in 2009.
Meanwhile Eli Manning (Rivers is often compared to him since they were both drafted in the same year), who was drafted by San Diego, refused to play for the Chargers when they drafted him, so San Diego traded Eli to the New York Giants in exchange for Philip Rivers and draft picks.
Although I can say Drew Brees is a better quarterback than Philip Rivers, the debate between Rivers and Eli might surprise some, as listed in the charts below.
Philip Rivers/Eli Manning Regular Season Comparison
-The charts below lists the passing yardage (YDS), completion percentage (CMP%), touchdowns (TD), interceptions (INT), and passer ratings (RATE) of both Philip Rivers and Eli Manning in the regular season.
-This list goes by year for both quarterbacks
-Eli Manning has started all regular season games for the New York Giants since 2005, and Philip Rivers has started all games for the San Diego Chargers since 2006, hence why the stats for both quarterbacks are significantly smaller in the first 1-2 years than later in their careers.
-This list begins when both quarterbacks became the primary starting quarterbacks for their respective teams. Philip Rivers’ chart starts in 2006, while Eli Manning’s starts in 2005.
-The total numbers will NOT be different as they include the years where both quarterbacks were not primarily starting for their respective teams.
Phillip Rivers – Regular Season
| Yards | Comp% | TD | INT | QB Rating | |
| 2006 | 3338 | 61.7% | 22 | 9 | 92.0 |
| 2007 | 3152 | 60.2% | 21 | 5 | 82.4 |
| 2008 | 4009 | 65.3% | 34 | 11 | 105.5 |
| 2009 | 4254 | 65.2% | 28 | 9 | 104.4 |
| 2010 | 4710 | 66.0% | 30 | 13 | 101.8 |
| 2011 | 4624 | 62.9% | 27 | 20 | 88.7 |
| 2012 | 3606 | 64.1% | 26 | 15 | 88.6 |
| 2013 | 4478 | 69.5% | 32 | 11 | 105.5 |
| Total | 32369 | 64.4% | 221 | 104 | 96.0 |
Eli Manning – Regular Season
| Yards | Comp% | TD | INT | QB Rating | |
| 2005 | 3762 | 52.80% | 24 | 17 | 75.9 |
| 2006 | 3244 | 57.70% | 24 | 18 | 77.0 |
| 2007 | 3238 | 56.1% | 23 | 20 | 73.9 |
| 2008 | 3238 | 60.3% | 21 | 10 | 86.4 |
| 2009 | 4021 | 62.3% | 27 | 14 | 93.1 |
| 2010 | 4002 | 62.9% | 31 | 25 | 85.3 |
| 2011 | 4933 | 61.0% | 29 | 16 | 92.9 |
| 2012 | 3948 | 59.9% | 26 | 15 | 87.2 |
| 2013 | 3818 | 57.5% | 18 | 27 | 69.4 |
| Total | 35345 | 58.5% | 229 | 171 | 81.2 |
As shown above, Philip Rivers has the edge over Eli Manning in the regular season by far, having a better completion percentage, fewer interceptions, and a better passer rating. While Eli has more yards and touchdowns than Rivers, this is only by a slim margin, as Eli has played more games than Rivers has.
For the heck of it, let’s include the postseason stats of both quarterbacks.
Philip Rivers/Eli Manning Postseason Comparison
–“GP” means “Games Played In The Postseason” in the respective year
-Stats included are the same as in the regular season charts
Philip Rivers – Post-season
| GP | YDS | CMP% | TD | INT | Rate | |
| 2006 | 1 | 230 | 43.80% | 0 | 1 | 55.5 |
| 2007 | 3 | 767 | 60.50% | 4 | 4 | 85.8 |
| 2008 | 2 | 525 | 57.7% | 3 | 2 | 83.4 |
| 2009 | 1 | 298 | 67.5% | 1 | 2 | 76.9 |
| 2013 | 2 | 345 | 69.8% | 3 | 0 | 116.9 |
| Total | 9 | 2165 | 59.9% | 11 | 8 | 83.7 |
Eli Manning – Post-season
| GP | YDS | CMP% | TD | INT | Rate | |
| 2005 | 1 | 113 | 55.60% | 0 | 3 | 35.0 |
| 2006 | 1 | 161 | 59.30% | 2 | 1 | 85.6 |
| 2007 | 4 | 854 | 60.4% | 6 | 1 | 95.7 |
| 2008 | 1 | 169 | 51.7% | 0 | 2 | 40.7 |
| 2011 | 4 | 1219 | 65.0% | 9 | 1 | 103.3 |
| Total | 11 | 2516 | 58.4% | 17 | 8 | 70.1 |
Although the common narrative is that Eli Manning is by far the superior postseason quarterback, the numbers from both QB’s is surprisingly close. Rivers has played 2 fewer postseason games than Eli, yet is barely behind him in passing yardage, and has only thrown 6 fewer touchdowns while playing 2 fewer games.
In fairness to Eli Manning, he has the same amount of postseason interceptions as Rivers in 2 more games played, giving Eli the edge in terms of TD-INT ratio. However, Rivers has the edge (barely) in completion percentage, and has a much higher overall passer rating in the postseason than Eli.
Looking back at the trade between the Chargers and the Giants in the 2004 NFL Draft, one would think the Giants won it, since Eli Manning has two Super Bowl rings in comparison to none from Philip Rivers. This is not the case. Rivers’ reliability and stats are both higher than Eli’s in most categories in the regular season and postseason.
So what does this mean? In all likelihood, it means Eli’s Super Bowl rings benefit from him having weapons offense (and stellar defenses) that Philip Rivers did not have during his career. That is not to discredit what Eli Manning has done, however. His two Super Bowl performances rank as two of the greatest of all time, and his overall postseason numbers are impressive as well. But if Eli Manning is considered a Hall of Fame candidate, then you have to include Philip Rivers as well, since he is a superior quarterback to Eli.
Is Philip Rivers a Hall of Famer right now? Not yet. Will he be a Hall of Famer with the numbers he’s putting up after a few more years in the NFL? Absolutely.
Rivers is an elite quarterback, and if he keeps this up, he’s a Hall of Famer in my book. Sadly, if Rivers ends his NFL career without a ring, this may (undeservedly) affect his chances of making it into Canton, Ohio, which is a shame. But he’s put up the stats and criteria needed for a Hall of Fame quarterback.
Until then, I wait for the day Philip Rivers gets the credit and praise he deserves.
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(Stats via espn.com, and pro-football-reference.com)
