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San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has become a player that most fans of the team would call the face of the franchise. He is the unquestioned leader of the team, and similarly to last year is playing some of the best ball in his career. Last week he put together two great late drives to upset the Baltimore Ravens and has bounced back from a slight lull that saw him averaging about one touchdown throw a game over the previous three games.
Now the New England Patriots come to town. With them the future Hall of Fame duo of quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick will of course be on the field. Above the normal challenges such a matchup will create for the entire team, it brings a special statistical negative Rivers would like to erase.
Since Rivers has started for the Chargers, he has played a Brady-led Patriots team five times, with two of those being playoff matchups. Rivers is 0-5 in those games. This streak dates back to 2007, and the losses have varied from close losses to total blowouts. This isn’t to say Rivers hasn’t beaten the Patriots as a starter; he did win a game against them at home in 2008. But that Patriots team was led by Matt Cassel, as Brady had been lost for the season when he took a low shot to his knee earlier in the year against the Kansas City Chiefs. And Brady has lost while playing the Chargers. Drew Brees beat him twice, with one being a complete 41-17 beatdown in 2005 in New England. But against each other, Brady is undefeated against Rivers.
In the NFL, a lot of variables go into which team wins in a given game. Defenses, special teams and other factors play a huge role, and it isn’t always the QB that decides the game. Rivers isn’t going to directly affect Brady on the field or vice versa, so it’s somewhat unfair to say Rivers, and Rivers alone, is 0-5. But the fact remains that until he can beat Brady’s Patriots instead of Cassel’s or some other backup, Rivers will be reminded of it.
When you consider what kind of competitor Rivers is, it’s hard to believe it doesn’t eat at him. He lives for this type of matchup; he said as much when he discussed how much he looked forward to playing Peyton Manning-led teams earlier this year. You don’t suit up with a torn ACL, like Rivers did in 2007 against the Pats in the AFC Championship game, if you don’t relish these opportunities to show you belong in the same discussion as Manning or Brady.
Brady is in the category of elite quarterbacks, so beating him on Sunday would not only be a huge boost to the Chargers postseason hopes; it would be a box Rivers has been wanting desperately to check since he was named the starter for the Chargers.
Jonathan George is an NFL writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @jonageorge. “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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