Chargers’ Philip Rivers: Most wins without Super Bowl appearance

Dec 16, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) walks onto the field during the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Philip Rivers has always been on the outside looking in since he came into the league. When he was drafted, the Giants gave him away to the Chargers and now Eli Manning has two Super Bowl Rings. Now he was forced to sit back and watch young quaterbacks like Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson make it into the playoffs while he was sitting at home. Then even further into the playoffs he watched Colin Kaepernick and Joe Flacco take their teams to the Super Bowl. But will it ever be Philip Rivers who gets to lead the yellow and blue of the San Diego Chargers onto the field to play for the covetted Lombardi Trophy?

No other quaterback in the NFL right now has more wins without a Super Bowl appearance than Chargers’ quarterback Philip Rivers. Rivers has 70 career wins and he has yet to step foot on the biggest stage in professional football. The next closest players are Mike Vick and Matt Ryan, who each have 56 wins without making a Super Bowl appearance.

To start his career, Rivers was on his way to being considered an elite quarterback. After sitting two years behind future Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees, Rivers got his first starting job in 2006. In his first season at the reigns, Rivers threw for 3,388 yards and 22 touchdowns and only 9 interceptions. He finished the season with a quarterback rating of 92.0.The Chargers finished 14-2 and exited the playoffs with a divisional round loss to the New England Patriots.

Rivers seasons were staying pretty consistent and he and running back LaDanian Tomlinson were making the Chargers a force to be reckoned with. Comparable with today’s Atlanta Falcons, the Chargers were proving year in and year out that they could get the job done during the regular season but then they were laying eggs in the playoffs. Rivers was ultimately getting frustrated and when the Chargers let Tomlinson go after the 2009 season, it didn’t help matters at all.

The past two seasons have been rough for Rivers and the Chargers. He went from being known as a quarterback who was going to post a quarterback rating of above 100, to

Aug 21, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

a quarterback who was known for turning the ball over. Even with the offensive struggles, Rivers is still averaging 4115 passing yards per season over the past two seasons. But the big thing is the fact that he’s thrown 35 of his career 93 interceptions in the past two years.

Will this be the year that Rivers and the Chargers get things turned around? Mike McCoy has led his offenses to the playoffs the past two seasons but have come up short

in each of those seasons. With a potentially elite quarterback in Rivers on the staff, this could be the year for the Chargers. Rivers just needs to get back to his Wolfpack mentality and get hungry.