NFL San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers’ Toughness Reminding Chargers How Lucky They are to Have Him

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Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Throughout the season, San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers has been battling a host of injury issues in an attempt to get his team to the postseason. Earlier on in the season, rumors swirled that he had a rib injury. There were discussions about his ankle being a problem. Now, sources within the team have allegedly leaked that Rivers is dealing with a bulging disk in his back that might require surgery after the year is over. He has come out this week and said he will be playing Sunday’s season finale in Kansas City, and no one that has seen his career is remotely shocked by that.

Playing through injuries is nothing new to Rivers. He has done so throughout his career, including a legendary performance in the 2007 AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots where he started and played with a torn ACL. These types of injuries have ended seasons and shortened careers for many NFL players, but Rivers’ ability to shrug them off and keep playing is the reason many view him as the toughest QB in the league.

The Chargers realize what they have in him, and despite his recent struggles with turnovers, it would be shocking to see Rivers ever have a crack at free agency. San Diego is expected to negotiate an extension with Rivers before next season ends, locking him up for the foreseeable future. It is rare to see the kind of durability Rivers has displayed during his tenure as the Bolts’ QB. He has started 142-straight games and currently stands behind only New York Giants QB Eli Manning in terms of active QBs starting consecutive games. You don’t get through that many games in a row in the NFL without playing with injuries. Sometimes it just comes down to pain tolerance and competitive will. One look around the NFL in terms of the QB position points out just how hard it is to make it a complete season, let alone almost nine.

Cleveland Browns QB Johnny Manziel, a polarizing figure known more for his off the field behavior than on the field, lasted all of six quarters. He was put on season ending I.R. this week with a hamstring injury. Teams like the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans have been putting QBs on IR all year and are down to guys who weren’t figured to have any chance of starting; guys like Ryan Lindley and Case Keenum are playing because guys like Carson Palmer and Ryan Fitzpatrick couldn’t last the season. Even the casual NFL fan knows just how important continuity at the QB position is. Anyone who doubts that can look at the correlation between those QBs that are in the top 25 longest current active start streak and Super Bowl wins. Manning, Drew Brees, Joe Flacco and Tom Brady are all on the list.

Rivers wants to be on that list too. Time will tell if he adds the ring to do so, but there is no doubt he qualifies in terms of toughness.

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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