Philip Rivers: Hall of Fame Bound?
August 20, 2018
The NFL has had a plethora of great quarterbacks over the past two decades and Philip Rivers is no exception; a 7-time Pro-Bowler, Rivers has always been a consistent quarterback, posting stats comparable to Hall of Famers such as Dan Fouts and Warren Moon. However, are Rivers stats alone enough to qualify him for the Hall of Fame or does he need playoff hardware like that of Eli Manning? To truly answer this question, we must explore Rivers career in depth, beginning with the 2004 NFL Draft.
During the 2004 offseason, the Chargers were looking for another quarterback because Drew Brees was not developing as quickly as the Chargers had wanted. They quickly saw their quarterback of choice: Eli Manning. The son of Archie Manning and brother of Peyton Manning, Eli seemed destined for success in the NFL. And even though Eli had made it clear that he did not want to be drafted by the Chargers, San Diego went ahead and selected Eli Manning with the 1st pick in the draft. However, Eli was not willing to negotiate on his stance of playing with the Chargers, so they traded him to the New York Giants for Philip Rivers, the 4th pick of the same draft. The minute Eli and Rivers were exchanged for each other, the rest of their careers would be analyzed side-by-side.
However, Rivers would also be unfairly compared to future 11-time Pro-Bowler, Drew Brees, due to the fact the Chargers traded for Rivers to eventually replace Brees. This plan was enacted two seasons later when the Chargers traded Brees to the Saints, allowing Rivers to take the coveted starting position.
Rivers quickly stepped into the spotlight, throwing for over 3300 yards, 22 touchdowns, and leading the Chargers to a 14-2 record. This was truly an impressive feat, since he had only thrown 30 passes over the previous two seasons. While the regular season showed much potential, the Chargers were not able to succeed in the playoffs. They were quickly eliminated in the Divisional Round by the Patriots, by a score of 24-21. Philip threw for 230 yards, but also threw an interception and fumbled the ball.
The following year was similar, Rivers had great stats and the Chargers would go 11-5 & secure another playoff berth. This would be the most successful playoff run for Rivers. The Chargers defeated the Titans and Colts and Rivers threw for 556 yards and 4 touchdowns in the two games. This placed the Chargers in the AFC Championship game with a match up against the undefeated Patriots. Rivers would falter, throwing for only 211 yards, 2 interceptions, and 0 touchdowns, in route to a 21-12 loss. While this loss to arguably the best team in NFL history, Rivers had a chance to really make his mark. Ironically, Eli Manning, the Chargers 1st pick of that 2004 draft, did make history defeating the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Rivers would continue to improve over the next seasons, throwing for some crazy numbers. For instance, during the 2008 season, Rivers would throw for 4009 yards, 34 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. Just as impressive, during the 2010 season, Rivers threw for 4710 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions! Although Rivers’ personal stat line was getting better, the team as a whole was not as successful. After the 2007 postseason run, the Chargers would only reach the playoffs 3 more times, never making it past the Divisional Round. And while Rivers was missing the playoffs, Eli Manning and Drew Brees were winning Super Bowls, Brees winning his first in 2009 season and Eli winning his second in 2011 season.
The question now arises, how much do the playoffs matter for a player to be considered for the Hall of Fame? Rivers has not been very successful in the playoffs, but that is not necessarily his fault. The Chargers during those playoff runs were not particularly strong on defense & Rivers had to work with 4 different head coaches. Another important factor to note is that Rivers never had a dominant running back after the 2007 season. LaDainian Tomlinson’s stats declined significantly after the 2007 season and there has not been an elite level running back since.
But there is one problem that I see keeping Rivers out of the Hall of Fame: leadership. While many quarterbacks have had lousy defenses and a mediocre running game, Hall of Famers are able to unite their team and bring out the best in every player on the roster. Take the 2009 Saints and 2011 Giants: both of their defensives were ranked 20th or worst, but Brees and Manning still were able to deliver a ring. Even more impressive, both were able to lead their team to a ring without a great running back: Brees had Pierre Thomas (793 yards and 6 touchdowns) and Eli had Ahmad Bradshaw (659 yards and 9 touchdowns). So while one can make a case for why Rivers was in an unfair situation, Brees and Manning delivered in similar situations.
I do not mean to take anything away from Philip Rivers’ career, because he has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league and can keep pace with anyone. But when it comes to the Hall of Fame, I personally believe that Rivers is in the Hall of Very Good, not the Hall of Fame. Sure, he has thrown for many more yards than Hall of Fame quarterbacks from the 1970s and 80s, but that was a much different era; today it is natural for a quarterback to throw for 3,000, 4,000, sometimes even 5,000 yards in a season. He also has not shown the ability to bring a team together.
This year could be crucial to number 17’s legacy. If he can lead the Chargers to the AFC West Division Title & perform well in the playoffs, we would need to reassess Rivers’ career. As of now, though, Rivers does not quite measure up to become a member of the Hall of Fame.
Written by Matthew Lippe
