Los Angeles Chargers

Philip Rivers on Chargers' woes: 'Nobody should feel sorry for me'

Published Nov. 15, 2016 1:58 p.m. ET

Brett Smiley

San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers' career looks a lot like former Chargers QB Dan Fouts': some good years and playoff runs, some lousy years in the AFC West basement, but overall he's a franchise quarterback.

That's definitely not a bad thing — Fouts is a Hall of Famer and perhaps the 35-year-old Rivers gets to Canton too — but the window for the elusive Super Bowl championship appears to be nearly closed in San Diego, if not already.

Rivers is frustrated and sickened by the heartbreaking losses the 1-4 Chargers have suffered this season, including Sunday's 34-31 loss to the Raiders in which placeholder Drew Kaser mishandled the snap on a possible game-tying field goal with two minutes remaining. But in addressing the suggestion that he might be better off elsewhere while the Chargers rebuild, a comment made on NFL Network by former teammate LaDainian Tomlinson, Rivers made it clear on Tuesday he doesn't want sympathy. Via ESPN's Eric Williams, Rivers said:

“I guess I should take that as a compliment. But at the same time, nobody should feel sorry for me, really. I have an opportunity to play quarterback in the NFL, live here and play here.

“My faith, my family and this football is more than I could ever imagine as an 8-year-old little boy. Yeah, we’re in a tough stretch, but there’s doesn’t need to be any sympathy for me. I look at it as, while I honestly feel I’m playing pretty good, I look at it as my job is to find a way to lead us to win games. We've won five of 21 with me at quarterback, and I take responsibility for that, too."

That's 5 of 21 since the start of the 2015 season. In addition to the Raiders loss, the Chargers have blown fourth-quarter leads of 13-plus points to the Chiefs and Saints this season, and also surrendered a late lead to the Colts. “We gave two away, and that’s what really drives me crazy,” Rivers said. "We didn’t win the other ones either, but we dominated those two games for the better part of 50 minutes, and that’s what makes us sick.”

Statistically, and in a vacuum, the Chargers have about a 6 percent chance of reaching the postseason, but if they lose to the AFC West-leading Broncos on Thursday night, it drops to almost nil. Almost. Rivers recalls the run that the Chiefs went on last season and sees an avenue.

“You’re like, ‘The Chiefs might not win again,'” Rivers said of the Chiefs' 1-5 start last year, “and then they run the table. And I’m not predicting we will. But we could. But we’ve got to win one first. It’s not gonna get any easier — here, Atlanta, Denver.”

So he's telling you there's a chance.