For the first 16 years of his career, Philip Rivers wore a Chargers uniform. He was the team’s pick at number four overall in the 2004 draft out of South Carolina. By his third season, he was named the starter and since then he has faced the Raiders 28 times over 14 consecutive seasons. Sunday it will be 15 consecutive seasons. Only this time he will look a lot different.
This offseason Rivers’ time with the Chargers came to an end. At 38 years old — now 39 as of two days ago — Rivers was not ready to hang them up, so he signed on with the Colts; trading in his lightning bolt for a horseshoe.
“Yeah, it really is [strange],” said Jon Gruden of seeing Rivers in a different uniform than he wore for 16 years.
“He has more fun playing football than most guys that I know. He has a passion about him that’s rare and I know he wants to beat us in the worst way. He has a disdain for the Raiders. He’s made that perfectly honest to me in the last three years I’ve been back on the sidelines, so it’s great to see him playing well and we look forward to competing with him also.”
There have been some epic battles between Rivers and the Raiders over the years. Many fans love to hate him, while others respect him for his passion for the game. As you might expect, he has Derek Carr’s respect from their six seasons facing off.
“Philip knows our franchise very well, obviously,” said Carr. “I think he’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. I think he’s one of the best to ever play.
“He’s unbelievable to watch, some of the throws he makes with anticipation and accuracy. He plays the game at a different level mentally than a lot of
quarterbacks play the game nowadays. He’s making checks at the line and things like that. A lot of people don’t do that stuff anymore. He still does. As an old soul, it’s fun for me to watch because I respect the heck out of him.”
Rivers was streaky against the Raiders. He lost both meetings with the Raiders last season but had swept the Raiders in each of the previous two seasons. And the Raiders had swept him the two years before that. Prior to that he outright owned the Raiders, sweeping them his first four seasons as a starter, and winning 14 of his first 18 against them. Hence the hatred many Raiders fans developed for him.
The question is if he is the same player at 38 (now 39) that he was. Indications are that he is as good or better now, and he’s battling a turf toe injury. He is on pace for 4,350 passing yards this season along with 24 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Those numbers are right on par if not slightly better than his career averages.
Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther sees some similarities to the QB his defenses have faced four times the past two seasons.
“He’s seen just about everything, so it’s a big challenge for us,” Guenther said of Rivers.
“He’s still getting them in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage. It looks like they’re running a lot of plays that he’s familiar with, both from a run and a pass standpoint, getting the ball out of his hands a little bit faster, and those types of things.”
Guenther noted that the Colts are also running some of the same plays they had run before Rivers arrived and he has adapted to those plays. Guenther would know too. This is the third season in a row the Raiders will have faced the Colts.
I suppose that would make for a familiar foe in the Colts as well as Rivers. Just not Rivers *as* a Colt. For that matter, Rivers is facing a familiar foe in an unfamiliar place. He’s never faced the *Las Vegas* Raiders before. Times certainly are changing.